Was It Truly Worth It
by Side1ways
Summary: Set 20 years after Carlos and Ben take the throne. The Villain Kids have adjusted to life in Auradon, and are living it out day after day with their partner and children. Follow the characters, as they struggle with everyday life, and the new challenges that present themselves. Sequel to What is Love Truly Worth
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**So Hi Guys and Welcome to a little test that I'm doing. So, I'm not gonna lie to you, I was working on Forever a King this week, and I realised how much I'm hating it at the moment. I know that's probably not the best thing to say, but it's true. So, to get out my anger and frustration, I started to toy with this idea. I've only been writing it for a day, and have managed to complete two chapters, so I wanted to upload one and get a grasp of what you think.**

 **Yes this is a sequel to What Is Love Truly Worth, but it's different to the first story in terms of content and writing style. I'm trying the idea of writing in third person, instead of first person, and I'm also going along the lines of each character having their own story line and problems to deal with. It'll make more sense when you read it. I adopted this style from OuToFmYmInDbAcKiN5MiNuTeS, with his writing for BTR, so please let me know what you think. If you like the story, then this will come after Business Intern, rather than Forever A King and we'll forget that story ever existed.**

* * *

"Carlos are you crying?" Ben asked, looking back at him after Carlos finally accepted that this was happening.

"Yes Ben. That has a tendency to happen when this sort of thing is going on" Carlos snapped back, trying to wipe the tears from his eyes, to no avail as they kept falling. Carlos was to upset that this was finally happening and was trying everything to ignore it, despite his better judgement, and his currently surroundings.

"Carlos, you knew this would happen eventually, and to be honest, I'm not sad about it what so ever. We both knew this day would come, so why are you getting so upset about it?" Ben replied, not understanding Carlos emotions what so ever.

As far as he was concerned, what was done was done, and nothing was going to change that. Ben always thought it was better just to accept things rather than dwell on them. In reality, only more hurt was caused that way, so it was better to just be done with it.

"Look, just forget it ok? For the sake of the public, I'll put on my brave face, and once it's done, I'll no longer be king ok?" Carlos replied, causing Ben to just roll his eyes at Carlos' current state.

"Stop being so dramatic" Ben mumbled under his breath when Carlos had stopped listening.

* * *

"How do you think Carlos is taking it?" Evie whispered to Mal as they watched Ben and Carlos from afar.

"He's crying E, even I can see that. He's definitely devastated over it" Mal whispered back, causing Evie to nod.

"Yeah, but he knew it was doing to happen eventually" Jay finally chimed in, making his presence aware to the two girls.

"Carlos has always been the emotional one though Jay, so whether he knew or not doesn't matter, he was still going to be upset." Mal countered, causing the other two to nod their heads. "All we can do is be supportive to him when this is all over." She continued as the other two nodded their heads.

"Yeah, cause us OG VK's need to stay together" Jay said, causing the two girls to break into a fit of laughter.

"God, you sound like the kids" Evie said in between her laughter, causing Jay to pout.

"Now come on, it's gonna be over soon, and he'll need us" Mal said, after her giggle fit finally died down.

* * *

Bailey, Adrian, Emily, Lexi and Xayn were all stood watching as well, having their own discussion what was going on. Bailey was the son of Ben and Carlos and currently 16 years of age.

Adrian was the son of Mal and Audrey and was also 16 and Baileys roommate at Auradon Prep, the school all the children were attending.

Emily was the daughter of Evie and Doug, currently 17 and was also Charlie's roommate.

Charlie, technically Charlotte, was Bailey's older sister, and was the same age as Emily.

Lexi was Lonnie and Jay's daughter, and was 16 alongside Bailey and Adrian. She was currently rooming alone, so spent many a night with Emily and Charlie.

Finally, Xayn was Xander and Jane's son, and was 16 as well. He was also currently rooming alone, and spent his time with Bailey and Adrian.

"What you do think of all this?" Xayn asked Bailey, causing him to shrug his shoulders, with an unfazed expression on his face.

"Well, Dad tried to put it off as long as possible, so I know he isn't happy about it. Pops doesn't seem too fussed though, so I'm not too worried. What will be will be" Bailey replied, causing everyone to respond with a non committal mutter.

* * *

Everyone stopped their discussions however when Charlie finally entered. She looked beautiful in her long black and white dress, following Carlos' style in fashion. It also helped that she shared his hair colour due to him being her biological father, so it suited her well. All attention was turned to her, as she walked down the hall of the cathedral. "I still can't believe it's her coronation day" Carlos whispered into Ben's ear, causing Ben to chuckle.

"Well, we've been in power since 21 so it's time for a break" Ben joked back, causing Carlos to chuckle.

"Please, we both know we not Scot free until she turns 21" Carlos replied, causing Ben to pout slightly.

"A man can dream, can't he?" He asked, causing Carlos to kiss him on the lips.

"Of course my King" Carlos replied, causing Ben to drop the pout at the use of his nickname.

"Will you guys stop being cute for one second?" Jane scolded, causing the two men to chuckle to each other, as Charlie finally reached the platform, and get down into one knee at the Dias. "Charlie De Vil-Adams" Jane began, causing Charlie to look up at her. "Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?" Jane asked causing Charlie to nod as she replied.

"I do solemnly swear" she said, causing Jane to begin knighting Charlie with the wand.

"Then it is my honour and joy to bless our new queen" Jane finished, causing everyone to applaud and cheer, when Charlie finally rose. Carlos was the first to jump out of his seat and give her a massive hug.

"My baby girl's all grown up" Carlos said into Charlie's ear, causing her to chuckle.

"Sorry Dad, I know you didn't want this to happen" she replied, causing Carlos to pull away.

"That's not true. I wanted you to have this, but I also wanted you to have a child hood. Back on the isle…" Carlos began, causing Charlie to roll her eyes as she interrupted.

"I know Dad, back on the isle you never had a childhood, so you wanted the best for us" she replied, with a flat matter of fact tone. She'd heard Carlos mention his lack of childhood plenty of times as was becoming sick of it. Of course, she didn't know the true extent of what Carlos went through, but both kids had some idea. Anyway, once Carlos had fully pulled away, it was Ben's turn to hug Charlie, also giving her his congratulations and whatnot.

"Do you remember your coronation?" a voice appeared from behind the pair of them, causing them to turn and see Mal, Evie and Jay stood there.

"Auntie Mal, Auntie Evie, Uncle Jay!" Charlie screamed as she went running up to the three of them. "I didn't know you'd be here!" she continued, as she hugged everyone of them individually.

"Of course we could kiddo! Wouldn't miss it for the world" Jay replied, causing Charlie to blush.

"I'm not a kid anymore" she replied, causing the three of them, plus Ben to chuckle while Carlos just scoffed.

"Don't remind me" he said, but Ben quickly changed the subject back to Mal's question.

"Yeah, I do. Which is why there are extra guards surrounding the Cathedral and extra reinforcement on the barrier around the Isle. We don't want another surprise visit" Ben joked, causing Mal to mock offense.

"Hey, that's my mother you're talking about" she said with a fake pout, causing the adults to chuckle. While Charlie knew all about Maleficent, she still didn't quite understand the joke behind it all. From what she had read, she sounded like a horrible, scary woman.

* * *

"Well, that's over with" Bailey said, once the ceremony had ended, and he saw Carlos run over to Charlie to give her a hug. Bailey was quick to pull out his phone and resume scrolling through social media.

"Come on Bai, it's her big day. Don't be such a dick" Emily said, causing Bailey to roll his eyes.

"I told you not to call me that. And I'm not being a dick, I'm just letting her have her moment in the spotlight" he added, with a rather large amount of resentment. With Charlie being the oldest, Bailey always thought that she was favoured over him. It didn't help that she was practically a female version of Carlos either, following all of his traits, whereas Bailey was different in that respect. With Ben being his biological father, he inherited most of Ben's trait, expect from his eyes, which unlike Ben's were blue from his surrogate mother. Other than that, everyone claimed he was spitting image of Ben.

"I don't want the spotlight" Everyone turned to see Charlie approaching them, causing Lexi and Emily to giggle as the curtsied in front of her.

"My Queen" the two girls said in sync, causing Bailey to roll his eyes and return to his phone.

"You may rise" Charlie joked back, joining in with the giggle fit the two other girls were having. Once the two girls stood up, they ran over to Charlie, and gave her a massive hug, congratulating her and whatnot, while Bailey just stood there, trying with all his might not to get jealous of the older girl. Before long, Adrian gave Bailey a tap on the arm, finally getting his attention back into the conversation.

"Sorry, what?" Bailey asked, as he locked is phone and shoved it into his pocket.

"I said, are you ready for the party tonight?" Charlie repeated, obviously annoyed that her brother wasn't paying any attention to her whatsoever.

"Yeah, it'll be _fun_. Loud pop music, a midnight curfew and no alcohol. _Great_ " Bailey replied, not hiding his sarcasm whatsoever, only aggravating Charlie further.

"Come on dude, it'll be great! There will be girls there!" Xayn added, causing Bailey to discreetly roll his eyes.

"Yeah, the same girls as at school" Bailey replied, causing Xayn to groan one again.

"Just lighten up dude" Xayn replied, before finally giving up after relentless accounts of trying to cheer Bailey up. This wasn't the first time he'd bitched about the party, and everyone had tried to cheer him up.

* * *

Adrian was getting ready for the party, but he couldn't help and think about Bailey. Adrian had known Bailey since he was born basically, and they were best friends while growing up, so he knew when something was wrong, but he couldn't tell what. Bailey was always good at keeping secrets from everyone, something he picked up from his Dad.

Looking over himself once more, Adrian was finally satisfied with his appearance. With Adrian being Mal's biological son, he got luckily with his genetics. For a start, his hair followed his donor dad's, meaning he had light brownish hair rather than purple like Mal. He had a mixture of his father's and Mal's skin tone, meaning that he was slightly tanner than Mal, but not as dark as Audrey. He did however inherit Mal's piercing green eyes, a quality may of the students in the school seemed to adore.

Adrian was dressed in a Navy and Purple suit, with his blazer and trousers being navy, while his shirt and tie were two different shades of purple, and he was comfortable with his outfit. Banging on the bathroom door, he heard a groan come from the other side. "Bailey, come on, we're ready to go!" Adrian shouted through the door, resulting in another groan from Bailey.

"But I haven't done my hair yet!" Bailey shouted back, causing Adrian to chuckle.

"Then stick some gel in the front, and let's go!" he replied, resulting in one last groan. Five minutes later, Bailey emerged in his blue and gold suit, similar to the one's his Pops used to wear, and his hair was spiked up at the front to perfection. Or so Adrian thought so anyway.

"Are you checking me out?" Bailey said, causing Adrian to smirk.

"Dude, I'm Bi, and you look pretty hot right now" Adrian replied, causing Bailey to playfully smack him on the arm.

"Sorry, dude, you're like a brother to me" Bailey replied, completely avoiding the matter of his sexuality. Bailey knew that he definitely was gay, but still didn't want to admit it to anyone, including his bisexual best friend or his gay parents, who he knew would accept him. Of course, Adrian didn't have any feelings for Bailey, but Bailey was still scared that Adrian would change around him, if he ever found out.

Luckily, however Adrian didn't catch on to Bailey's lack of sexual clarification and just chuckled back. Before long, the two boys were making their way to the back of the school, where the party was being hosted, courtesy of Evie who was now the headteacher of the school.

* * *

"Ben, are we seriously here right now?" Carlos asked, as they approached the school.

"Yes Carlos, I thought you'd be happy to see our little girl" Ben replied, with a smug look on his face, causing Carlos to sigh in defeat.

"Well, I am. But, your parents weren't at your coronation party, so surely, we should leave Charlie to hers" Carlos responded, causing Ben to chuckle.

"Evie said she needed chaperones for the party, as school doesn't officially start for another week, so all the teachers are still away" Ben replied, trying to justify why they were there.

"You just don't want to let your little girl go either, but you don't want to admit it. At least I'm 100% honest" Carlos replied, before taking off ahead of Ben, meeting up with Evie, Jane, Mal and Doug. Ben sighed in defeat, knowing that Carlos was completely correct.

The two had managed to push the coronation back one year before the council started to become suspicious, claiming that Ben and Carlos just wanted to stay in power for as long as possible. That wasn't true, it's just Ben wanted Charlie to at least finish school before she became queen, but pushing it back to 17 was the best they could do.

Ben eventually joined Carlos with the rest of the group, as they began to talk about Ben's coronation party. "Do you think they'll sing a song?" Evie said, causing everyone to think about their answer.

"Well, growing up with Ben as their dad, he definitely tried to push his singing ability onto them, so probably" Carlos teased, causing Ben to snort.

"You're not so innocent yourself. Remember your marriage proposal?" Ben asked, causing Carlos to pout in annoyance, while everyone else chuckled. "Well, no matter that they do, it would be as good as mine. I remember that night, it was our first time" Ben continued, causing Carlos' pout to turn into an instant blush.

"Gee, TMI Pops" the group hear a voice behind then, and turned to see Charlie, Emily and Lexi all in slightly shorter versions of the dresses they were wearing earlier.

"If you weren't eavesdropping, you wouldn't have heard it" Carlos replied, causing Charlie to chuckle at the fact that her dad had bested her.

"Touché. Well, we're gonna go party. Don't embarrass me" Charlie replied teasingly, before placing a kiss on her two father's cheeks and walking off to enjoy the music and food.

Emily did the same with Doug and Evie, but before she could walk away, Ben quickly added "Em, just keep an eye out for her" causing Emily to smile.

"Of course I will Uncle Ben" she replied, before running off to join her friends, Ben and Carlos safe in the knowledge that someone was looking out for the baby girl, even when they couldn't.

The party was a huge success, with everyone having fun in the end. Bailey refused at first, but eventually lightened up a little, after constant a barrage from his friends. The group were in their own little world, and ready for the beginning of school next week.

* * *

 **Ok, so there is the first chapter, and let me know what you think. I know I introduced new characters, and made this story basically the Descendants of the Descendants, but like every other story I do, I like it to be unique. Like I said, let me know what you think about it.**

 **I also want to quickly say a huge thank you so much because WILTW now has over 7,000 views which is completely surreal to me so thank you all for the support on that story, and I hope you enjoy the sequel just as much! So until Monday, for Water Under The Bridge TTFN :D**


	2. Chapter 2: The Next Generation

**Hi guys, and welcome to another surprise update for this story. So, thank you all for the support I received on this, it was amazing, and honestly made my day. For some reason, I want to have a rant so, I'm just gonna go for it, cause some prick set the fire alarms off in the halls at half 11 last night! I was all comfortable, reading fanfic, and then I had to go outside into the cold! So yeah, I'm mad about that. In other news though, Star Trek Online has launched their 8th Anniversary Event, so that's all good.**

 **I'm done being stupid now, so let's crack on with the story :)**

* * *

Evie and Carlos were pacing up and down at the entrance of the school, their nerves on overload. "E, C. just calm down" Mal said, trying to provide some kind of comfort, but it was obviously useless. Telling someone to 'just calm down' never works.

"How can I be calm Mal? This is the first lot of new Villain kids that had decided to act on my proclamation." Carlos snapped, his nerves obviously getting the better of him. Although to be fair, he did raise a brilliant point. When Carlos introduced his proclamation at 21, he expected it to get an overwhelming response, with lots of VK's taking the opportunity to join them in Auradon. Instead, the opposite happened, with no one signing up for it, or even acknowledging its existence. Carlos was hurt over this for a while, but he understood why it had happened.

After their 'failure' at gaining the wand, and their conversion to good, many of the Villains wouldn't want the same to happen to their kids, so they keep them at bay from Auradon. How, 20 years after the proclamation had been made, a group of four villain kids had finally taken up the offer, and were arriving at Auradon Prep today.

"And there has to be something up with them. Nothing has happened with the proclamation for 20 years, and now a group takes it. That can't be a coincidence" Evie chimed up, finally letting out the reason she was nervous.

"Guys, just calm down. We'll each mentor one of them, and if anything is up, we'll figure it out." Jay replied, only to receive a glare from Carlos and Evie.

"The only reason they found out about our plan Jay was because we told them! If we hadn't they would have been completely clueless to it!" Carlos snapped back, causing Jay to roll his eyes.

"Exactly, we'll know what signs to look out for! Just chill, the limo's approaching now anyway" Jay said, as the four of them formed a line, with the limousine pulling in front of them. Unlike their arrival, there was no marching band, or a mass assembly of students, it was simply the four original 'Villain Kids.' Inside, Bailey and Charlie were waiting to give the kids a tour when the introduction talk was over.

Finally, the limousine door opened, and the four new villain kids stepped out, forming a line of their own. On the left, opposite Jay, was Hayden the son of Hades. He was 17 years old, and wore a black grey hoodie with black combat trousers and boots. His hair was an electric blue colour, much like his fathers when he was calm, and he was fairly pale skinned.

Opposite Evie was Hattie, the daughter of the queen of hearts. Much like her mother, she had black hair, and favoured a red and black colour scheme. Her outfit was a leather jacket, and a skirt both with a chequered and black pattern. She also wore red high heels and she was the same age as Hayden.

Opposite Mal was Maia, the daughter of Madam Mim. She also followed her mother, with her purple hair, not as vibrant as Mal's, and she wore a simple purple t-shirt with dull pink joggers and trainers. She was 16, but not the youngest of the new bunch.

Finally, opposite Carlos, was Grayson, the son of Mother Gothel. He had black hair, which fell just above his eyebrows and was wearing a crimson jacket with a black undershirt and crimson jeans, with black combat boots coming up to his calf. He was the youngest in the group, still at the 16 of sixteen however.

"Welcome to Auradon Prep, my name's Evie, and I'm the head mistress" Evie began, greeting the new arrivals, and trying her best not to show her nerves. "Would you like to introduce yourselves?" She asked, as she stepped closer to them, causing the VK's to hold their ground. One by one, they rattled off their names.

"Hayden"

"Hattie"

"Maia"

"Grayson"

The four said, each holding their own slight nervousness in their voices. Obviously, they were scared, but at the moment, Evie only thought it was due to their current, new surroundings. The new VK's attention was always trained to the floor, accept when Evie spoke to them, when they looked solely at her, and no one else. Carlos could tell something was definitely up with them, as could Mal and Jay from the looks they exchanged. Evie turned and looked back at the three behind her, causing them to finally join in with the little introduction.

"So, I'm Jay. Hayden, I'll be your mentor for the first year here, so if you need anything just let me know" Jay said, all the VK's eyes trained on him. As soon as Hayden was solely addressed, the other VK's dropped their eyes from him immediately, turning them to the floor in front.

"Um, I'm Mal, and Maia, I'll be your mentor" Mal said, and the same process happened as before. Evie claimed Hattie, leaving Carlos with Grayson.

"So, I'm Carlos, and Grayson, I'll be your mentor throughout the year. I'm also in charge of the transfer program, so if you do have any issues, let Evie know, and I'll be with you as soon as I can" Carlos said, causing all their attention to avert to him.

"You're King Carlos?" Hayden asked, with a slight amount of surprise in his voice. Whether that be due to the fact they didn't expect him to be here, Carlos didn't know.

"Yeah, here and present" Carlos joked back, causing the four VK's to exchange a small look to each other, before getting down onto one knee, shocking the rest of the old VK's into silence.

"Thank you, King Carlos. Thank you so much!" Hayden said, causing the other three to follow. Before long, they new VK's had got back onto their feet, and were now staring at Carlos once again.

"What was that all about?" Carlos asked, trying not to sound rude, but still in shock from the scene that had just unfolded.

"We are so grateful for you!" Hattie said first, causing Maia to follow.

"Without you, we'd be trapped on that Isle forever" she said, causing the older VK's to slightly understand.

"Ok, so what exactly happened with your transfer?" Evie finally asked the burning question the old VK's had burning in their minds.

"We applied without our parent's knowledge. The villains tried everything to hide all knowledge of your proclamation, not allowing any of their children to come to Auradon. Growing up, no one knew about this opportunity, and school was brutal, trying to shape us into the next generation of villains." Hayden responded, before Grayson finally spoke up.

"One day the four of us wanted access to the secret library within Dragon hall. After bribing Dr Facilier with 4 tarot cards, he eventually let us enter. While browsing, we found the newspaper articles of the four of you, and how you'd been 'corrupted' by Auradon, and we were intrigued. Looking deeper, we eventually found everything that had happened, and also the news of the proclamation allowing VK's a new chance in Auradon. The four of us agreed, and signed the sheets straight away. We were able to send them off, but in doing so our parents became aware of what he planned. For weeks leading up to this, we were starved and beaten, until the Auradon Guards finally came and collected us today." Grayson finally finished, causing the other three VK's to nod in agreement.

"Oh god" Evie spoke first, small tears welling in her eyes, but she was unable to actually prepare any words. Luckily Carlos was more stable that the other three at the moment, and was able to form a proper sentence.

"Thank you for sharing that with us. We'll take you straight to the cafeteria, where you'll be able to eat some proper food, and then we'll take you to the nurse who will check and heal any injuries you've got ok?" Carlos asked, causing the new VK's to nod as they followed the four old VK's into the school.

* * *

"How are they this young anyway? I mean, aren't their parents the same age of Grandad and Nan?" Bailey asked, obviously curious about the age of the new VK's.

"Well, yeah" Charlie replied, finally thinking about what Bailey had said. He did raise an excellent point.

"So surely, they should be the same age as Dad and Pops, right?" Bailey continued, causing Charlie to become even more confused. As Charlie couldn't find an answer, she decided to give up.

"I don't know, maybe magic had something to do with it? Look, just forget it ok? Either way, they're our age, so we have to be nice to them. This is important to Dad, so don't mess this up" Charlie replied, as the main doors to the school opened. As soon as the new VK's came into site, Bailey was stunned into shock. There, right in front of him, was the most perfect boy he'd ever seen, and he had no clue how to respond in this scenario. Instead he just stared, causing the new boy to awkwardly avert his eyes. That was until he felt an elbow strike his side.

"Ow!" Bailey exclaimed, rubbing the affected area, as his sister stood there with a smirk on her face.

"Bailey?" Carlos asked, staring quizzically at him. "Could you help us lead Hayden, Hattie, Maia and Grayson to the cafeteria please" Carlos continued, causing Bailey to nod.

"Yeah, yeah, follow me" he said, turning heel and starting to walk towards cafeteria, as Charlie gave them her little welcome speech.

"Auradon Prep was original built over 300 years ago, and was converted into a high school when my Granddad became king" she said, causing the older VK's to give each other a look due to the fact that she basically copied Ben's speech, claiming it as her own. This pretty much continued until they reached the cafeteria.

* * *

"So, do you think they're here yet?" Adrian asked, staring up at the ceiling in his room. Evie had given the students the morning off, when the new VK's arrived to make sure she didn't overwhelm them. This resulted in Adrian, Lexi, Xayn and Emily laying about in Adrian's room, waiting for some sort of news or for class to begin.

"Probably, and I can imagine their being given the 'grand tour' of the school" Xayn replied with a large amount of sarcasm in his voice.

"Come on guys, this is a big day for them. Those 8 are the only people from the Isle, so of course they want then to settle in ok" Emily chimed up, trying to provide a new perspective on the idea.

Of course, all the VK's kids knew to some extent about the Isle, but it was agreed between the parents that they'd never fully tell the kids what they went through. After all, it wasn't fair on the parents to relive it, or for them to pass that down onto the kids. So, they stuck with the little stuff, like they eat rotten food and attending school where they were taught to be evil.

And luckily, the kids accepted it, never really questioning it any further than that.

* * *

Bailey was completely hypnotised by one of the new VK's, but at the moment, he didn't know their names individually. Deciding to try and get one step ahead of the game, he decided to ask. At the moment, Mal, Carlos, Evie and Jay were away silently discussing whatever they were discussing, leaving only the kids. "So, I know we've got Hattie, Hayden, Maia and Grayson, but who is who if that isn't being too rude?" Bailey finally asked, causing the four VK's to look up from the plates they were currently protecting with their arms.

One by one, the VK's rattled off their names again, and Bailey finally knew the name of the boy of his dreams. 'Grayson' he kept repeating in his mind, slowly resulting in staring at the boy once again, something he didn't intend to do. Bailey got another elbow to the stomach, and he snapped out of his trance, when he realised the whole table was staring back at him.

"What?" he asked, causing Charlie to groan next to him.

"Idiot" she said, before turning back to the VK's. "Yeah, so King Ben and King Carlos are our parents, Mal and Audrey have a son called Adrian, Jay and Lonnie had a daughter called Lexi, and Evie and Doug have a daughter called Emily" Charlie replied to their question, which was asking about the other VK's children.

"And you like it here?" Grayson asked, causing Charlie to give him a confused look.

"What, at the school?" she replied, obviously confused by their question.

"I think he meant Auradon, you idiot" Bailey replied, finally able to get his own back on his sister. "Yeah, it's really nice. I mean, everyone is super friendly, and polite, so hopefully no one will give you any trouble. The school is good as well though, with the teachers being really nice and the lessons are interesting." Bailey replied, causing Grayson to give him a small, yet cute smile.

"So, you guys ready to head to the nurse?" a voice boomed from behind them, and they turned to see Ben stood with his hands on his hips.

"King Ben?" Hattie stuttered out, as the rest of the VK's stared at him in complete awe.

"Pops, what are you doing here?" Charlie asked, standing up and giving Ben a quick hug, which he returned. Bailey just sent a nod Ben's way, which Ben also returned.

"I wanted to see the new arrivals. I remember the day your father arrived, so I wanted to see how everyone was getting on" Ben replied, before Hayden freaked out.

"King Ben, thank you so much for this opportunity, and we promise we won't let you down" Hayden rambled, causing the rest of the VK's to nod along in agreement.

"Don't worry about it, Hayden, right?" Ben said, causing Hayden to nod. "But in all fairness, this was all on Carlos so he's the one you should be thanking" Ben continued, causing Maia to pipe up next. "

We already have, your highness" she replied, causing the other VK's to nod once again in agreement.

"So, we ready?" Carlos' voice was heard, causing the VK's to stand up from the table and follow Carlos to the Nurses office.

* * *

"I'm telling you Ben, they got onto their knees for me, they're not planning anything. If anything, they're just super scared" Carlos whispered to Ben, as Evie, Jay and Mal chatted to the rest of the kids.

"I'm just wanted to be sure Carlos" Ben whispered back, causing Carlos to raise his eyebrow at him. "I mean, I thought there was nothing wrong with you guys, until you spelled me" Ben whispered back, causing Carlos to glare at him.

"Keep your voice down, and stop bringing that up, it was one time! Believe me Ben, they admitted to being beaten and starved. I mean, I didn't do that until I was having dinner with your family. They're being genuine" Carlos reassured him, before Ben nodded in agreement.

"Ok then, I trust you. So, what's the plan for them anyway?" Ben asked, causing Carlos to roll his eyes in frustration.

"The same that happened to the four of us really. Hayden and Grayson will be given a room, same with Hattie and Maia. They'll attend normal lessons, as well as a crash course in goodness 101, cause god I remember how painful that class was and I don't want to put them through a whole year of it. Plus, Mal, Evie, Jay and I are mentoring them, so we'll look after that mostly" Carlos said, causing him to receive a smack on the arm.

"Hey, goodness class was my idea!" Ben said with a pout, causing Carlos to chuckle.

"And it was very cute of you" Carlos replied, kissing him chastely on the lips before returning to the rest of the group.

By this point, Charlie was chatting to Hattie and Maia about clothes and whatnot, while Grayson and Bailey were sat next to each other. Each with a small blush on their face.

"So, you like video games?" Bailey asked, trying to strike some kind of conversation with Grayson. I mean sure, he was nervous as hell, but it was better than the awkward silence they were currently sat in.

"We didn't have video games on the isle." Grayson replied, shifting awkwardly in his seat at Bailey's sudden conversation.

"Oh, what about TV?" Bailey replied, causing Grayson to shake his head, once again.

"No, we only got 2 TV channels, and one of them was the news. The other was propaganda about being good" Grayson replied, still uncomfortable with his conversation with Bailey. I mean, it's not that he didn't like Bailey, I think the problem was that he liked him a little too much.

"Oh. Well, you'll get to watch lots of TV here. Maybe I could show you some of the channels?" Bailey asked, deciding that he at least wanted to befriend Grayson, if it was the only thing he could do.

"Sure, I'd like that" Grayson replied, looking at Bailey with that small but cute smile once again. Suddenly, Grayson wasn't so nervous about his time here in Auradon, even though the thought of him disappointing his mother still loomed over him.

Before long, it was his turn to visit the nurse, and after being given some medication for some swollen ribs, he was all set to go.

* * *

"Do you think they caught on?" Hayden asked, pacing up and down his room in nerves as Hattie and Maia sat on his bed, while Grayson sat on his own.

"Dude, why are you so worried?" Grayson replied, watching as his best friend slowly wore a whole in the carpet with all his pacing.

"Cause our parents sent us here with a mission!" Hayden snapped back, causing Grayson to roll his eyes.

"Hay, we just need to stick with the plan, and everything will be fine. They won't catch word of anything, and everything will be ok" Hattie replied fed up with her friends stressing. He'd done it the whole journey there, where they all told him everything would be ok, and now they were having to witness him doing it again.

"But we are going through with it aren't we?" Maia asked, who was just as scared as Hayden was, she was just a little better at hiding it.

"Yeah, of course we are. We just need to stick together" Hayden replied, as there was a knock at the door.

"Oh great" he muttered, before swinging it open, revealing Bailey stood there.

"Hey guys, I didn't expect you all to be here." Bailey said, suddenly getting all nervous. "Err, Grayson, I was wondering if you wanted to check out the TV, and video games and that. If you don't want to, it's cool" he continued, causing Grayson to blush as he said it.

"Uh, yeah, sounds good. I'll see you later guys." Grayson replied, causing Hayden to stare at him in disbelief.

"So much for sticking together!" Hayden shouted before Grayson slammed the door closed.

"Honestly Hay, just chill out. Everything will go to plan" Hattie re-iterated, causing Hayden to let out a huff.

"That kid is going to be the death of us" he mumbled under his breath.

* * *

"So, how did their first day go?" Ben asked Carlos, while the pair of them were getting ready for bed.

"Yeah, Evie said they got on really well. None of the students made a big fuss over them or anything, and she said they seemed to settle in nicely. Struggled a bit during some lessons, but that's only normal. Especially after the stuff you get taught on the Isle" Carlos replied, stripping down into his boxers and slipping into bed.

Ben shortly followed, wrapping his arms around Carlos, causing Carlos to snuggle into Ben's chest. "So, any plans for tomorrow?" Carlos asked, rolling over so he could face Ben while the two of them talked. This was one of their favourite positions, cuddled up together, holding each other in their arms.

"Yeah, I've got negotiations with the council in Cinderellasburg. Apparently, we need to assign an heir to the throne soon, as Cinderella and Prince Charming are looking to retire soon." Ben replied, causing Carlos to nod in agreement.

"I suppose when they lost Chad, they also lost their only heir" Carlos replied, still slightly spiteful when he mentions Chad's name, no matter the fact that it was over 20 years since he was banished. After the events of Ben's coronation, Chad's exile was made permanent, which left Cinderella and Prince Charming to rule over the Kingdom still. Now, the two are in their early 60's, and have sent the majority of their lives in the throne.

"Yeah. Snow White has offered one of her sons however, so they can keep the Charming name, but I need to be there to mediate the discussion, and see his suitability." Ben replied, and Carlos noticed the use of 'I.'

"Wait, aren't I coming with?" Carlos asked, sitting up slightly in the bed, so he could face Ben properly. Ben quickly followed suit, with the pair of them, now sat with their backs against the headboards.

"Well, with the new VK's coming, I didn't know if you were busy with them, so I didn't want to make any promises for you" Ben replied. As a result, Carlos quickly straddled Ben, before pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"Damn, you're good to me." Carlos said, once the need to air so strong. He rested his head onto Ben's chest, causing Ben to run his hands through Carlos' hair.

"It's because I love you pup" Ben replied, causing Carlos to snuggle closer into Ben's chest as he whispered "I love you too, my king," before pulling Ben into another passionate kiss, which quickly turned into a battle for dominance.

"You know, the kids are out, so we have the castle to ourselves" Ben whispered into Carlos' ear, before kissing and biting the side of his neck.

"I like your thinking" Carlos moaned in reply, causing Ben to smirk before the two of them continued their 'nightly activities'

* * *

 **So, there is chapter 2, and we have four new VK's introduced. Don't worry though, i'm not just gonna replicate the story from Descendants, as I have plans for each of the characters. I hope you enjoyed and let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you to White Collar Black Wolf for the review, and thank you to MaliceMalAmyMalevFaery for getting in touch with me, and helping me with some ideas with the story.**

 **Other than that, I suppose I'll see you tomorrow for Chapter 9 of Business intern!**

 **Until then TTFN :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Issues

**Hi Guys and welcome to chapter 3 of WITWI. So, as bad as this is going to sound, this chapter is a peace offering. I haven't really worked on this story recently, as I've finished one of my Big Time Rush stories that has been in the works since the 16th November. With that story being finished, and this one being...not, I've decided that the BTR story will be following Business Intern instead of this like I promised.**

 **I know, I'm the worst human in the world, but I will need time to get this story finished and to a standard that I like, so for a while, I won't be uploading any Descendants stuff on a weekly basis. I will probably upload a chapter of this once in a while, but at the moment I can't commit this story to a weekly basis, knowing that it isn't finished. I'm also an even worse human being cause this is the chapter were shit starts to hit the fan, so I'm just being a major asshole.**

 **I hope you can forgive me :(**

* * *

 _"You insolent child. You've ruined my furs again!" Cruella shouts to a 7 year old Carlos after he's finished brushing her furs._

 _"I'll do it again Mummy, I swear!" The young Carlos begged, picking up the brush once more and beginning to brush through them._

 _"No, you need to be taught a lesson. You should only ever have to do it once, you stupid child!" Cruella responded, grabbing Carlos' wrist, and throwing him into the floor in the living room of Hell Hall. Carlos landed face first onto the hard wooden surface, and could already feel his jaw bruising from the impact. "This deserves 20 minutes of whipping I think, because this isn't the first time you done this now is it?" Cruella asked, but the question was rhetorical._

 _Carlos had made this mistake three other times in the past, and received a 15 minute whipping at each incident. Obviously, Cruella was feeling a little more…cruel in this incident. "No Mummy, it isn't" Carlos responded, as his shirt was ripped from his body, leaving the 7 year old boy shirtless again the cold floor. He could hear the sound of the whip being retrieved from the cupboard and knew there was nothing that could be done now, except to wait and bear the consequences._

 _He could hear the crack of the whip close to his left ear, obviously Cruella was testing it out before she used it, and that's when he felt the first strike land on his back causing him to scream in pain._

Carlos woke up screaming, as he imagined the agony of the whip slapping against his skin. The scream was loud enough for it to wake most of the castle staff, and of course Ben next to him, who quickly came to his aid, wrapping his arms around the man beside him, who was in hysterics. Carlos sobbed into Ben's arms, the nightmare running in his mind over and over again, the cracking of the whop being heard, and the pain it caused being felt.

"Shhh, Shhh, it's ok" Ben tried to soothe, only to no avail as the sounds continued to rattle in his ear. Through his tears, Carlos was able to open his eyes, and survey his surroundings, noticing he was in the warm bedroom, rather than the cold living room he remembered.

"B-Ben" Carlos managed to stutter out, realising that he was in the arms of his husband.

"It's ok Carlos, I'm here for you" Ben repeated, placing a small kiss on Carlos' forehead as he did so, hoping to soothe the smaller man. Knowing that he was ok, Carlos managed to calm slightly, safe in the arms of his husband. Carlos knew this wasn't a dream, suddenly remembering the experience after 34 years of suppression.

Snuggling into Ben's arms, Carlos stayed awake for the remainder of the night, the newly surfaced memory still buzzing around his mind, and Carlos feared that there was more memories that he had suppressed long ago.

The only way he'd be able to find out would be wait until they wanted to be seen.

* * *

Emily woke up that Tuesday morning as she usually would. Similarly to Evie, she would wake up at least 3 hours before school started, allowing her to get ready for the day. She would shower, and moisture making sure that her hair was kept in perfect condition and her skin was not dry or rough. After that, she'd dry herself off, and start to apply her make-up, making sure she looked perfect.

Of course, she always did. The girl was the spitting image of Evie, yet still managed to stay herself, with her midnight blue hair being in a short bob rather than long and flowing. Her eyes were a beautiful hazel colour, the perfect mixture of Evie's brown eyes, and Doug's Green ones, and her style was always impeccable, always managing to find the perfect outfit.

Or so everyone else thought, as Emily didn't hold herself in the highest opinion. While showering, she'd always comment on how ugly she was, or how she'd gained weight on her thighs or stomach. When applying her make-up, she'd always complained about how her face was too chubby or how her nose was too big. It didn't help that she'd inherited her father's eyesight, with her glasses always being a centre for self-criticism. And when Emily would shave, it was safe to say she'd end up with a few more cuts than was necessary.

Of course, she began an expert at hiding her own insecurities, and no one knew about her problem, being able to play it off when someone commented about her lack of eating, and she'd always deny any compliment about how she looked, which she got very often. In Emily's case, jealousy was also linked with her problem, and it didn't help that she shared a room with the person she was jealous of.

While she loved Charlie completely, it didn't help that she could get out of bed and spend minutes on her appearance before looking flawless, something Emily took hours to attempt to achieve.

"Morning" Charlie said, as she finally rose from bed at 7:00am, half an hour before breakfast was served.

"Morning" Emily replied, with her usual sweet tone, not being a bitch to Charlie. It wasn't her fault that Emily was imperfect, and she didn't know that she flaunted that in front of Emily.

"I still don't get how you do that." Charlie said, causing Emily to tilt her head to the side, in confusion. "Your make-up. I can never get mine that good" Charlie clarified, causing Emily to force a chuckle. Mostly jealously ensued, her mind twisting the words to insinuate that Emily needed it to look as good as it does in order to hide her true self.

"Don't be silly, you always look fine" Emily replied, knowing that it was the best answer to give in that situation.

Charlie just smiled, giving Emily a quick "thanks" before heading to the shower.

* * *

Maia was currently sat alone during the first lesson of the day. Due to the timetabling, Maia currently had a free period, something she was unaccustomed to. What made it worse was the lack of work for her to do. With it being the VK's first official day, she had nothing to do, but to sit and stare as people walked by or to consider what she'd be doing if she were back on the Isle.

She'd probably be sat listening to Lady Tremaine go on about the perfect evil scheme, or listen to her Mum and her slightly insane ramblings about magic and sorcery. Maia was aware that she didn't posses magic, and no matter how hard her mother tried to convince her, she knew she never would. There was just no spark, no…fire inside of her to suggest she did.

And to be honest, Maia was happy that way. She'd heard the one sided stories of magic, and in her opinion, it caused nothing but trouble. Maia was snapped out of her thought bubble when she saw a shadow become cast on her table. She looked up to see a lean Asian girl stood above her. Her skin was slightly tanned, and she was wearing a modern take on traditional Chinese dress. Her hair was a coal coloured, easily flowing at a mid-back length and her brown eyes perfectly complimented this.

"Hey, it's Maia, right?" The mystery girl asked, causing Maia to stumble over her words in nervousness.

"Yeah, how'd you know my name?" Maia replied, curious as to who this stranger was.

"Charlie told us. Maybe I?" The girl asked, gesturing to the seat opposite Maia, in which Maia responded with a nod. "Oh, I'm Lexi by the way, one of Charlie's best friends." The girl finally clarified, allowing Maia's memory to kick into gear.

"Oh, Jay and Lonnie's daughter, right? Charlie told us about you yesterday" Maia replied, causing the Lexi to chuckle.

"Only good things I hope" Lexi replied, causing Maia to suddenly become all flustered by the boldness of the statement.

"Well, she didn't tell us about you you, just about you" she replied, causing Lexi to raise an eyebrow at the obvious absurdness of the statement. "Charlie told us that you were Jay and Lonnie's daughter, that's all" Maia finally clarified causing Lexi to chuckle.

"Ok, I think we're on the same page now" she began, causing Maia to nod in response. "So, how you liking it so far?" Lexi asked, finally allowing normal conversation to continue.

* * *

"I still can't get over how soft the beds are" Grayson as, as he and Hayden walked into Biology.

"I know! And the food we got at breakfast as well. None of it was rotten or stale" Hayden replied, as they took two random seats in the class. No one seemed to mind that they sat here, so if it was anyone's seat, they obviously weren't that territorial about it.

"I think I could get used to it here" Grayson replied, causing Hayden to nod, before leaning closer to Grayson.

"Yeah, and if we stick to the plan, we won't have to worry about it" he whispered, causing Grayson to roll his eyes.

"Dude, just relax, and everything will be fine. And stop freaking out about the plan. No one has caught on yet anyway" Grayson stated, with a rather annoyed tone. Before Hayden could respond, the teacher started the class.

"So, today we are going to be starting that dissection we planned in our last lesson. Everyone get into your pairs, and get the necessary equipment." She said, before turning her attention to Grayson and Hayden. "Since you to boys are new, I'm going to split you up, so you can get involved with someone who knows what their doing. Grayson, I want you to go with Bailey, and Hayden, I want you to go with Adrian." She finished as Bailey and Adrian approached the table, causing the two VK's to split up.

"So, what are we dissecting?" Grayson asked, as he followed Bailey over to his work space.

Laid out on the table was a tray, with some sort of animal pinned down by it's 'hands and feet.'

"Oh, it's just a crystalline frog. Notice how parts of it's skin are reflective? It's to scare away any predators" Bailey replied, as Grayson stared at the reflection of himself on the stomach of the frog.

"Freaky" Grayson said, as he continued surveying the work space. Next to the frog on the tray was a pair of forceps, a scalpel, some scissors and some pins.

Before long, the pair of them had gotten to work, with Bailey slowly slicing down into stomach of the frog.

* * *

"I'm telling you Lonnie, he woke up screaming and crying"

Ben and Lonnie were currently sat on the Auradon Private Jet as they made their way to Cinderellasburg. Despite arguing with Carlos about going, Ben found himself getting ready to mediate the discussion between Snow White and Cinderella.

"Did he say why?" Lonnie asked, seeing how concerned Ben was for his husband's welfare.

"No, and that's the worst part. He told me it was a bad dream, and when I asked him if he wanted to talk about it, he completely shut down, telling me it was nothing to worry about. I kept pushing it, and in the end, he just shouted at me and stormed off" Ben replied, recalling the memory vividly.

"Are you sure, it wasn't just a bad dream then? I mean, Carlos seems pretty adamant about that" she theorised, causing Ben to shake his head.

"I've known him for 25 years, and he's never had anything as bad as this. If it was a dream, he would have said something, every other time he has done." Ben concluded, and Lonnie nodded in agreement.

"So, why are you here then? If it's as bad as you said, why aren't you with him" Lonnie replied, only making Ben feel guiltier about the whole thing.

"I said I'd stay with him all day. I told him we'd just cuddle, and watch movies, and I'd do this at a later date, but he refused, saying 'The kingdom is more important than one bad dream.' I called bull shit, but he still wouldn't have it. He basically packed my bag for me. No matter what, I'm going home tonight, whether we're done with negotiations or not. I'm not letting him sleep alone, only to have another one and not have anyone there to comfort him."

"And I'm also guessing you don't want the kids to see him that way" Lonnie replied, causing Ben to nod.

"It would only freak them out. I mean, to see us shout is one thing, but to hear their father sobbing and screaming is something I don't want to put them though"

"Well, I hope you figure out whatever it is that up with him. He doesn't need more stress in his life." Lonnie concluded, causing Ben to nod. She was right, Carlos didn't need anything else going wrong in this life.

* * *

"Dude, I know how to hold a knife trust me on that" Hayden commented, causing Adrian to groan in frustration.

"I told you, it's a scalpel not a knife. And if you press to hard…" Adrian began, before seeing Hayden snap the scalpel in half. "It'll snap." He finished, rolling his eyes, as he stood there with his arms crossed, and an eyebrow raised.

"God, don't give me that look" Hayden remarked, as he finally saw the look on Adrian's face.

"What look? I'm not giving you any look" Adrian replied, his voice absolutely laced with sarcasm and condescension.

"You are! You're giving me the 'I told you so look' and that never ends well" Hayden said, flinching at his words, as he remembered every time his father had given him that look, and especially what followed.

"Boys, what going on over there?" Mrs Hannaway said, causing Hayden face to pale. It was never good when you got the teachers attention. Hayden looked straight down at the floor, his stature now stiff and rigid.

"Sorry Miss I just snapped the scalpel in half and the blade is still in the frog." Adrian replied, something Hayden didn't expect him to do.

"Very well, just be careful when you remove it, and come place it on the side where your done." Mrs Hannaway replied, before turning her attention to others within the class. That's when Hayden looked up at Adrian, with a look of awe and gratitude on his face. Of course, Adrian didn't notice at first, as he was currently trying to pull the blade out of the frog, but he soon felt a pair of eyes piercing into the side of his head.

"Dude, you're staring" Adrian said, as he finally managed to get a grip on the blade.

"You covered for me? You took the blame for the scalpel" Hayden said, almost in disbelief over what had occurred. No one would ever do that back on the isle. _Rule Number 1: Always look out for yourself._

"Yeah, and?" Adrian asked, still pulling on it, as it slowly made its way out.

"Dude, you're taking my punishment! No one would ever take a canning for me back on the isle" Hayden continued, as once the words had passed his mouth, Adrian was shocked into disbelief. So much so, his index finger slid right across the blade of the scalpel, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Holy shit" Adrian yelled, shaking his finger before quickly holding it in his hand.

"Adrian, what have I said about that kind of language!" Mrs Hannaway snapped, before turning and seeing him clench his finger.

"Can I go to the nurse?" he asked, causing her to nod quickly.

"Of course. Hayden, can you pair with Bailey and Grayson until he gets back?" she asked, causing Hayden to nod in response.

"What happened? Is Adrian ok?" Bailey asked, once Hayden had reached their table.

"He said he'd take the caning for me" Hayden announced in disbelief, causing Grayson to gasp as well.

"Seriously? He said that?" Grayson responded, sharing the same disbelief present in Hayden's voice.

"Gray, he took the blame for me!" Hayden responded, with Bailey just stood there a confused look on his face.

"Ok, hold up a second. Took the blame and a canning for what?" Bailey finally asked, snapping the two VK's out of their little moment.

"Well, I told him I knew how to hold a knife, and went to stab the frog thing with it, but when I did the blade snapped in half. Mrs Hannaway noticed, and before I could say anything, he told her that he did it." Hayden responded, only pushing Bailey further into confusion.

"Ok, but what does that have to do with a caning?" he asked, causing the two VK's to give him a disbelieving look.

"Dude, since he took the blame, he's the one that gonna get punished for it." Grayson replied, with an eye roll annoyed at Bailey's stupidity.

"But, we don't use caning as a punishment, hell we don't really get any punishment. And, it was an accident, Mrs Hannaway will understand that. The school will just replace the scalpel and that's that" Bailey replied, causing his eyes to widen when he finally thought about it. "Wait, you'd get caned on the Isle as punishment?" he continued, causing both boys to go rigid in front of him. "Guys, nothing like this happens here in Auradon. The worst punishment here is a 10 minute detention, where you had to write lines about what you've done wrong" Bailey finished, causing both boys to stare at him in disbelief. "This is gonna take some explaining." He stated, sighing before he started to talk to the two new boys.

* * *

Carlos was currently sat in the living room within the castle watching TV, when we heard voices coming down the corridor. "Right here for you, Prince Bailey" one of the guards said as the living room door swung open, and Bailey walked in.

"Ley, what are you doing here?" Carlos asked, as he shuffled himself up the sofa, making room for Bailey to sit down.

"I wanted to ask you about something Grayson and Hayden said earlier." Bailey replied, causing Carlos' face to pale slightly. Whatever this was, he knew it wasn't going to be good. He could tell from Bailey's constant fidgeting, and playing with his hands. "In Biology, Hayden said something about being caned as a punishment, and I didn't know if it was true or not" he continued, staring at the floor as he spoke.

As soon as the words left Bailey's mouth, Carlos' whole body tensed as another memory resurfaced.

 _"Mr De Vil, pay attention!" Governor Ratcliffe snapped, as he struck the desk in front of Carlos with his ruler._

 _"I am sir" Carlos replied, not making eye contact with the older man._

 _"Look at me when I speak to you boy!" Governor Ratcliffe scolded, once again striking the space in front of Carlos. "It seems you need to be taught some manners" The Governor hissed, causing Carlos to tremble all over, as he slowly extended his fingers out onto the desk. As soon as his fingers were extended, Ratcliffe's ruler struck his knuckles, causing Carlos to wince in pain, the sound he made resulting in another strike._

 _"Silence Mr De Vil!" Governor Ratcliffe said, causing Carlos to press his lips together, holding in anymore whimpers. The pain was still shown on Carlos' face however, something the Governor didn't approve of. "Clearly your mother has never done a good enough job disciplining you if you are pained by such mediocre acts." The Governor said, walking away from Carlos' desk. Filled with relief, the small boy brought his fingers back into the palm of his hands, balling them into a fist._

 _That was until the Governor pulled out a metal rod from the front of the room. "De Vil, here, now!" The older man shouted, causing Carlos to shake as he approached the front of the class. Everyone's eyes were on the small boy, as he approached the chalk board at the front. When Carlos finally approached the chalkboard, Ratcliffe pushed him into it, so his back was facing the class._

 _Ripping Carlos' t-shirt off, exposing his back to the whole class, Ratcliffe began to strike Carlos harder and harder. One across his shoulder blades, another at the mid back, and another across his waist. Carlos stood silently, enduring the pain of each strike as they occurred. One across the back of his knee, and one across his neck now joining with the rest._

"Dad?" Bailey asked, finally looking up after what he thought was Carlos sobbing. Of course, he thought correct, as Carlos had curled himself up into a ball, as he sobbed into his knees. Bailey was completely stunned into silence, witnessing his father as he never had before. Not knowing what to do, he acted on the first thought that came to mind.

"Hello?" Ben's voice came over the phone, which slightly reassured Bailey slightly.

"Pops. Pops, I need help. I was talking to dad, and he zoned out for a brief second. Now he's curled up on the sofa crying, and I don't know what to do. He won't talk to me, he just keeps crying" Bailey said in a mass panic down the phone.

As soon as Ben had heard what his son as said, he began to panic as well, but he knew that he needed to be strong at the moment. "Ok. Bailey, I need to you put me on loudspeaker, and get one of the guards to call Uncle Jay for me ok? Can you do that for me?" Ben asked, causing Bailey to nod, not that Ben could see it.

"Ok. Pops, I'm scared" Bailey quickly said, causing Ben to sigh empathetically on the other side of the phone.

"I know son, but everything will be ok. I promise you. Now, go get Uncle Jay, and put me on loudspeaker ok?" Ben repeated, causing Bailey to follow his instructions. When Ben heard the living room door shut, he began to soothe Carlos.

"Pup, can you hear me?" Ben asked, and all he got in response was a muffled "yes" from where Carlos had been crying. "Carlos, it's ok. Bailey's gone to get Jay, and I'm on my way back to the airport now. Can you tell me what's wrong" Ben asked, as he heard a sniffle and a whimper from the other side of the phone.

"I'll tell you when you get back" was all Carlos could muster, before he broke into tears once again.

"Ok, pup. I'll be home soon. Just listen to my voice, and try to breath ok?" Ben said once again, causing Carlos to nod through his tears.

* * *

 **So there we go, chapter 3! So, Emily has self confidence issues that she is trying to deal with, and Carlos has started to have random memories resurfacing after years of suppression. Grayson and Hayden are still getting used to the school system, and Maia and Lexi have started to chat to one another. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and once again, I'm sorry to leave it on such a cliff hanger.**

 **Thank you to White Collar Black Wolf for leaving a review on the last chapter, and also thanks to Redhoodfan for favouriting and following the story. So, until Monday**

 **TTFN :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Hocus Pocus Diddly Squat

**OK SO I'M GOING TO TALK IN ALL CAPS CAUSE I'M VERY EXCITED RIGHT! SO, I HAVE JUST WOKEN UP, LITERALLY LIKE 30 MINS AGO, AND THE FIRST THING I SEE IS A DESCENDANTS THREE TEASER TRAILER! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG, I'M SO EXCITED AND HAPPY AND I'VE WATCHED THE CLIP LIKE 10 TIMES ALREADY. IT'S ALSO MASSIVE HYPOCRITICAL OF ME, AS NOW I'M IN THE MOOD TO WRITE DESCENDANTS SO AFTER BEING A PRICK YESTERDAY, EVERYTHING IS UP IN THE AIR ONCE AGAIN.**

 **BUT I NEEDED TO GET THIS OUT NOW, CAUSE I'M AM QUITE LITERALLY BUZZING!**

* * *

"I call bull. There's nothing there!" Emily said, as she stared at Adrian's index finger.

"There is! Can't you see the scar?" Adrian replied, using his other index finger to trace it.

"Just admit it Adrian, you're making the story up!" Xayn commented, causing Adrian to groan with annoyance.

"I'm telling you, I sliced it open, and I had to see the nurse. She said it was that bad, only magic would heal it!" Adrian replied, sounding proud of himself, for whatever reason is unknown.

"I'm still calling bull" Emily replied, causing both Xayn and Charlie to nod in agreement.

"Just ask Hayden, he'll tell you the truth" Adrian replied, causing Emily to smirk.

"Well, he's right over there. If he tells us, then we'll believe you" he said, causing Adrian to groan, as he got up from his bench.

"Dude, Adrian's coming over here right now" Hattie said, causing Hayden to blush in embarrassment.

"Don't toy with me!" Hayden replied, causing the two girls to laugh.

"Aww, is Hayden embarrassed by his wittle crush?" Maia mocked, causing Hayden to blush further.

"I told you that in confidence." And it was true. After Adrian had took the blame for Hayden, Hayden couldn't help by develop a little crush on his savour.

No matter how many times Bailey had told him that punishment wasn't the same here in Auradon, Hayden still couldn't get the idea of Adrian covering for him out of his head, especially when Adrian got injured due to it.

In Hayden's opinion, that only made it hotter.

"Hey guys" Adrian said, snapping Hayden out of his little fantasy.

"Hey Adrian" The girls said in sync, causing Adrian to chuckle at them.

"So Hayden, I was wondering if I could borrow you for a second. Xayn, Emily and Charlie don't believe that I sliced my finger open, no matter how many times I tell them. They said they'd only believe me if you said it" Adrian said, which caused Hayden's blush to deepen even more, knowing that Adrian had specifically asked him instead of Grayson or Bailey.

"Y-Yeah, that's cool" Hayden managed to stutter out, before pulling himself up off the bench.

One last look at Maia and Hattie resulted in them making goo-goo eyes and kissy faces behind Adrian's back, causing Hayden to scowl at them, as he walks to defend his crush's honour.

* * *

Evie was sat in her office, going through school work, when she heard a knock on her door. Quickly, reviewing her schedule, she that no meetings were planned for today, so she was curious to see who it could be. "Come in!" she shouted, and the door opened to reveal Grayson, with a rather nervous look on his face. "Ah Grayson, I didn't expect to see you here" Evie said, as she pointed to the empty seat in front of her desk.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" the boy asked, as he took the seat presented before him.

"Not at all. I was just working through some paper work" Evie replied, shuffling the stuff about, so it wasn't her way. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked, causing Grayson to awkwardly shuffle in his seat.

"I just wanted to know…how long did it take for you to adjust to Auradon?" the boy asked, causing Evie to be stunned by the question. She'd never really consider that before, and looking back into her memory, only one real moment stood out that she knew she truly belonged.

"Um, it took me about two weeks to fully settle in. Why do you ask?" Evie questioned, curious as to where this sudden train of thought was coming from.

"It's just something Bailey said to me yesterday. He was discussing the punishment in the school, and it made me realise that I have nothing to worry about. Yet, I still find myself jumping at loud noises, or looking behind me when I'm walking in the dark. I still feel constantly on edge, and I can't seem to help it" Grayson confessed, looking down at the floor as he did so.

"Oh, I see what you mean now. Let me be honest with you Grayson, in that respect I still haven't got used to it." Evie responded, causing Grayson to look up at her in disbelief. "I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear, but I still scare at sudden loud noises, and I'm still nervous when walking alone, and I'm sure Carlos, Jay and Mal would tell you the same. Unfortunately, on the Isle, we had to look out for ourselves, and that kind of instinct doesn't go away for a while. It does get better, and you will become less nervous as time passes, but a part of you will always be constantly on edge." This definitely wasn't what Grayson wanted to hear, yet hearing it made him feel so much better.

"But, how do you cope with constantly being on edge? I mean, I'm struggling to sleep at night, because I'm scared someone's going to walk in" Grayson replied, running a hand through his hair in frustration. Evie had to put some thought into her answer, wondering how to phrase this without making the situation worse.

"The way I dealt with it was to surround myself with people I could trust. Of course, I stuck will Mal, Jay and Carlos, but I also made new friends so I knew I had another safety net if they weren't there. Eventually, I got used to the idea that no one could get into the room unless I allowed them, and that if anyone did, Mal would help to protect me." Evie confessed, giving Grayson a lot to think about.

"Plus, and don't tell anyone I said this" Evie began, causing Grayson to give her a quizzical look before she continued. "Mal had learnt a few spells before she came to Auradon, so if anyone did get it, she'd be able to deal with them. I also slept with a knife under my pillow for a while" Evie confessed, causing Grayson's face to light up slightly.

He reached into his boots, and pulled out a smaller dagger. "It was the last thing my mother gave me before I came here. I take it with me everywhere I go" he admitted, before sliding the dagger back into his boot. When he finally looked up, Evie had a look of contemplation on her face, as she considered what to do next.

"As headmistress of the school, I should technically confiscate that from you" she began, causing Grayson's expression to drop. "But, as a person who knows what you're going through, I'll allow it." She continued, causing his face to light up once again.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" he said, with beaming smile, causing Evie to chuckle.

"But, if I hear reports of you getting it out, I will have to take it away. That goes for the other VK's as well, so make sure to let them know." Evie said, causing Grayson to nod. "Plus, it wouldn't be fair for me to take it away if I have this in my desk" Evie said, pulling a draw out from beside her. Grayson leaned over the desk to see that one of Evie's draws contained a small dagger, about the same size as his.

"Thank you, Evie," Grayson said, before making his way over to the door. He was able to twist the handle and open it, before his name was called again.

"Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to share your concerns with me" Evie said with a sincere smile, causing Grayson to nod as he finally left the room.

* * *

"I'm telling you Charlie, I've never seen Dad like that before. One moment, he was ok and the next he was sobbing on the sofa" Bailey confessed, as he was laid on his bed. He was currently discussing what he saw with Charlie, as it was safe to say that the experience freaked him out slightly.

"And I was completely helpless. I didn't know what to do. I called Pops, and he told me to get Uncle Jay, and put him on loudspeaker. By the time Uncle Jay got there, he'd calmed down, but was still sobbing slightly. They told me to leave the room once Uncle Jay got inside." Bailey finished, finally looked up at Charlie.

She was just silent, trying to absorb all the information presented to her. "Do you know what caused it? I mean, you must have said something, or something must have happened for him to have a reaction like that" Charlie replied, with that being the only think she wanted to think about.

The visual image of her dad in tears wasn't something she wanted to think about for long.

"I don't know. I was telling him about what Grayson and Hayden said with canning being a punishment, and that's when he freaked out. You don't think…" Bailey began, but Charlie was quick to deny the idea.

"No, no, no! Surely not. I mean, things aren't that bad on the Isle, are they?" Charlie responded, but part of her knew they were on to something.

"I don't want to think about it." Bailey said, shuddering as an image of Carlos being caned was running through his mind.

* * *

Mal groaned as she started to write questions on the chalkboard. With everything happening with Carlos, she had been asked to cover the Goodness 101 lessons, and she was not pleased. But she knew that Carlos was in no position to teach.

At the moment, she was writing the same questions on the board she was asked and had a slight smile on her face, despite the groan, when she remembered how that lesson went, especially Evie asking 'what's the second one'.

She was snapped out of her thought process, when she heard shuffling behind her and a mumbled every now and then. Turning around, she was that the new VK's had sat closer to the front then they had, but not so close that they were at the front. They were sat about three rows back, and Mal finally clicked how irritating that must have been for the Fairy Godmother.

Reading the room, Mal knew exactly how to start this lesson.

"Before any of you say anything, Carlos is currently…dealing with some personal issues so I'll be teaching the lesson for the next month until completion. And, before you moan about it being a month, remember that I had to take the class for an entire year, even after the Ben's coronation, so you're getting off easy." She said, taking one step closer to them as they started to unpack the things from their bags.

"I'm going to be honest with you, when I first started this class, I thought it was completely pointless. Of course, at the time we only had one mission, so nothing else really matter. But looking back on it now, some of the lessons learnt from it will really help you to adapt to life here. So, it's not necessarily what I say that going to be useful, but it's how you act on it, clear?" Mal asked, causing the VK's to nod their heads.

"Don't worry, Miss?" Maia began, causing Mal to chuckle.

"Mal's fine" she replied, causing Maia to nod before she continued.

"Don't worry Mal. I mean, the four of us want to learn how to be good, so if this is what it takes, we're up for it" Maia finished, causing the other VK's to mumble in agreement.

Mal took a quick sigh of relief, slightly confident in the fact that she had gotten through the VK's and began the lesson.

"Ok, so question number one: You find a vial of poison…" she started, causing the new VK's to sarcastically groan, in which she chuckled and rolled her eyes, playing along with them.

* * *

Adrian was walking about in the forest after school. His last lesson of the day was History of Auradon, and he was currently reviewing the lesson in his mind. The lesson focused on the story of Sleeping Beauty, one that was quite familiar to him, with his Mum being the daughter of Sleeping Beauty herself, and her Ma being the daughter of Maleficent herself.

It wasn't the irony of the situation that he was thinking about however, but more of the tale itself…well Maleficent's curse to be precise. Adrian knew that his grandmother and mother had magic, especially when he sees his Ma quickly making the bed, or move something from a high shelf, but the idea that Adrian had magic had never been entertained.

Of course, while using magic instead of hard work was frown upon in Auradon, Adrian couldn't help but want to posses the ability. Kicking a rock out of his way, Adrian decided to toy with the idea, mostly just to curb his interest.

"Hocus pocus diddly squat, turn this plant into a pot" He chanted, seeing a small vine growing up one of the trees. Swiping his finger across the air to add to the absurdity of the situation, Adrian didn't expect to see small sparks fly across the air, and per request, the vines transformed into a pot. With them growing up the tree, the pot was formed in mid-air, causing it to crash into the ground and smash everywhere.

Adrian however as still gobsmacked by the whole idea, and just stared at the pieces on the ground. It wasn't until he heard laughter from behind him that he twigged that he wasn't alone. He spun around to see Hayden clutching his stomach as he continued to laugh.

"Nice rhyme" Hayden managed to pant out, before creasing up once again, leaning against one of the tree for support. Adrian however wasn't impressed and stood with his arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"Were you following me?" he asked, as Hayden's laughing fit died down.

"Yeah, I decided to stalk you into the woods in the hope that we'd spend some alone time together" Hayden replied, causing Adrian to be taken aback from Hayden's boldness. That's when Hayden creased up laughing again as he said "You should have seen your face" causing Adrian to groan and roll his eyes.

Little did Adrian know that Hayden was telling the truth the first time.

"So, what are you doing out here?"

"I was exploring. There aren't any forests on the jungle for me to explore. Well, unless you want to dredge through a jungle full of nettles. What about you?" Hayden replied, causing Adrian to blush.

"I just wanted to get away and think" Adrian replied, causing Hayden to raise his eyebrow.

"And the magic?" he continued to press, hoping to get an answer out of Adrian.

"What I was thinking about. I was toying with the idea that I had it. I didn't know I actually did." Adrian responded, causing Hayden to "Ohh" in understanding.

"So, what was the rhyme about?"

"Well, I always see my Ma say one before she uses it, so I thought I needed to do it" Adrian replied, causing Hayden to chuckle.

"Trust me dude, it's no needed. I mean, I don't use one when I use magic" Hayden responded, causing Adrian's eyes to widen.

"You have magic?" he asked, almost as if he didn't hear Hayden right the first time.

"Dude, not to sound big headed but my dad's a god, so that makes me basically a god as well. Of course I have magic!" Hayden replied, causing Adrian to roll his eyes.

"You're right. You are big headed" Adrian responded, causing Hayden to chuckle.

"I could help you, you know. Help you get a grip on it" Hayden continued, flicking his fingers causing fire to form in the palm of his hand. Adrian went wide eyed, mesmerised by the flame, before his brain clicked into gear.

"Dude, we're in a forest, put that out" Adrian panicked, causing Hayden to chuckle, as he rolled the ball of fire around in both hands.

"Just think about my offer" Hayden responded, chucking the ball of fire like a tennis ball into Adrian's hands. Adrian quickly caught it, once again mesmerised by its beauty, before he heard Hayden click again, causing the fire to extinguish into oblivion.

With nothing left to say, Hayden turned, and began to make his way back to the school, leaving Adrian stood there in awe. Hayden was almost back on school grounds, when he heard his name being called out from behind.

"Hayden wait!" he heard, and he spun around to see Adrian running after him. "I…Can you help me?" Adrian causing, causing a small smile to grow on his face.

"Yeah, but I want something in return" Hayden asked, causing Adrian to go on the defensive slightly. "I want you to help me fit in. I mean, we have those goodness 101 lessons and that, but I want someone who will actually look out for me, you know" Hayden replied, causing Adrian to smile.

"Yeah, I can help with that" he replied, causing the two boys to look up to each other.

"So, as Ursula would say. Have we got a deal?" Hayden asked, extending his hand out, which Adrian took promptly.

"Deal" he replied, causing the smile on Hayden's face to multiply exponentially. Mostly due to the thought that he'd be spending a lot more time with his crush.

The two boys stood there, hand in hand for a good few seconds, before they let go, settling back into idle chatter as they made their way back into the school.

* * *

Lexi was training in the gym after school. Much like her mother, and her grandmother, Lexi trained with a sword in her spare time. For Lexi, it wasn't about the ability for self defence but more the graciousness of the training, as well as the precision it requires. For her, it was a way to remove herself from the days' events, and entirely focus on the moment.

Well, that was until she heard some giggling and snickering coming from behind her.

"What?" Lexi said, as she turned to see the culprits of these bitchy acts; Annabelle who was Ariel's granddaughter and Juliet, Jasmine's granddaughter.

"It's nothing Lex" Annabelle said, causing Lexi to roll her eyes at the use of an abbreviated name.

"Yeah, nothing" Juliet continued, causing Lexi to roll her eyes once more, this time at the obviousness of who was in charge. Deciding to ignore the girls once again, Lexi tried to return to the training, only to hear the whispering and snickering begin again. Trying her best to avoid it, Lexi continued, until Annabelle decided to ask a question.

"Isn't it a bit…manly to be training with a sword?" the red-haired girl asked, causing Lexi to groan.

"If you're stuck in the 15th Century, then yeah, maybe" Lexi replied, only to no avail, as Annabelle completely shrugged off the comment.

"I'm just saying. You're suppose to be a princess, and yet you're dressed in…leggings and a tank top" she continued, causing Juliet to speak up.

"Yeah, surely you should be in a dress?" the obviously…dumb girl asked.

"A princess isn't about what you wear, it's about how you conduct yourself" Lexi replied, trying once more to focus on the sword.

"And I'm saying that you conduct yourself in a very boyish manner" Annabelle pried, causing Juliet to 'whisper' to her friend.

"Maybe she's a lesbian. I mean, it would explain the boyish attitude" Juliet said, obviously loud enough for Lexi to hear.

"Juliet, you can't say things like that." Annabelle scolded, before turning back to her friend. "But I think she is. I caught her staring at me once in the changing rooms" she continued, causing Lexi to roll her eyes once more.

Knowing she wasn't going to win this battle, Lexi proceeded to pack her stuff away, causing Annabelle to act shocked.

"Wait, where are you going?" the girl asked, causing Lexi to ignore her as she walked past.

"Rude" Juliet said, and that's when Annabelle hit home with her comment.

"Well, she is the daughter of a villain, so what can you expect. If you ask me, she deserves to be on the Isle, her father alongside her. Maybe that would teach her to act like a princess, instead of a dyke." the red-haired girl scolded, as Lexi continued to walk away.

Trying to stay strong, she quickly placed the sword away, before walked back to her room. There, she let the flood gates open, the horrible comments the girls said, running through her mind.

* * *

 **So there we go for chapter 4! We've got the development of a crush from Hayden to Adrian, and isn't Hayden just adorable! Grayson was worried about fitting in, and he shared a few words with Evie to try and ease his concerns. Charlie and Bailey are freaked out over Carlos, and Mal has begun Goodness 101 with the VK's. Adrian has magic, and Hayden has promised to help, and last but not least, Lexi is dealing with a couple of dumb bitches. I don't condone the language they used!**

 **A lot happened this chapter, so we can only wait and see how it develops. Thank you to White Collar Black Wolf for the review on the last chapter, and also thanks to Pinkcrazyness for following the story.**

 **So, until Monday,**

 **TTFN :D**


	5. Chapter 5: Concentration

**Hi guys and welcome to chapter 5 of Was it Truly Worth It! I know it's been a while since I uploaded, hence why one is going up today! It's also my birthday, so I thought it would be a nice treat to get this up.**

* * *

"It's ok pup. Just breathe" Ben said, as he was sat next to Carlos in their castle. Jane was currently sat opposite them, with a small notepad. Carlos had opened up to Ben about what he was experiencing, and the first thing Ben recommended was to bring Jane into it. After all, she was a doctor at Auradon General Hospital. At the moment, Carlos was trying to tell Jane what he had told Ben, but like that situation, it was finding it difficult to relive the memories.

"It's ok Carlos. Take as long as you need. There's no reason to rush yourself" Jane spoke up, trying to comfort the white-haired man. After a few breaths, Carlos began to settle.

"The first one was a dream. I ruined one of my mother's furs, and she decided to…beat me. She wiped me for 20 minutes solid." Carlos said first, causing Jane to make notes in her notepad. Once finished, she looked back up at Carlos, nodding for him to continue. "I could feel the pain and hear the sound like it was actually happening. The next one was another memory. This time of Governor Ratcliffe. Bailey said something about caning, and suddenly I had a flashback of me sat in Dragon Hall, and he was caning me because I wasn't paying attention in his lesson. Again, I could feel the pain" Carlos said, before descending into a sobbing mess. Ben quickly pulled Carlos into his chest, tears staining the shirt he was wearing, as he tried to comfort Carlos.

"I know this is difficult Carlos, but I just have one more question for you. Has this ever happened before? The dreams, or the flashbacks?" Jane asked, causing Carlos to shake his head as he sobbed.

"T-T-That's w-w-w-what's so s-s-scary about it. U-Until t-t-they happen, I didn't know it happened, b-but o-once it d-does, I re-remember it as clear as any-anything" Carlos choked out, causing Jane to nod as she made more notes in her pad. There must have been a few minutes where no one said a word. Carlos continued to sob into Ben's chest, as Ben provided his support through small kisses and back rubs. Jane was pondering what Carlos had told her, and only one solution seemed to fit.

"Ok" Jane said, finally breaking the silence in the room. Carlos continued to sob into Ben's chest, while Ben looked up at Jane, hoping she had some sort of answer. "From what I can tell, it sounds like dissociative amnesia, coupled with post traumatic stress disorder." Jane said, causing Ben to cock an eyebrow at her in confusion. Carlos' sobbing had settled down, showing that he was trying to listen to Jane's diagnosis. "Dissociative Amnesia is where the brain suppresses traumatic memories, in order to avoid the negative consequences that come with it. Essentially, the memories were too much for you to handle and comprehend causing the brain to shut them away." Jane explained, but before she could get any further, Ben jumped to questioning.

"But if it's suppressed the memories, then why are they resurfacing now?" he asked, causing Jane to put a small sympathetic smile on her face.

"In order for the brain to release such memories, there must have been a trigger. From what Carlos has told us, both memories were of the Isle, so the only logical trigger I can think of it the new VK's coming over. Their arrival acted as a reminder of the Isle, and when they explained what was happening to them, it sparked the memories, causing them to surface. When Carlos was sleeping, it was an outlet for them, hence why he dreamt it" she continued to explain, causing Ben to nod, while Carlos sniffled a little bit.

"So, how do we fix it?" the smaller man asked, his voice muffled as he spoke into Ben's chest.

"Well, I'm going to recommend a psychotherapist for you to see. As difficult as this will sound, the sessions will serve as a way for you to try and bring forward any more repressed memories." She said, causing Carlos' head to snap up as he stared directly at Jane, shock most definitely present on this face. "By doing this in a controlled environment, it will allow you to build tolerance to the memories if any did resurface elsewhere, but the doctor will explain more to you at your first session. I also want to prescribe you some weak antidepressants. With the new memories, I think it will help you to cope with the situation" she continued, causing Ben to nod, while Carlos slowly took in the information. "Other than that, I recommend you stay you remain at home, and try to avoid any strenuous work. You don't need another memory surfacing on a diplomatic trip, or when you're lifting something heavy" she finally finished. She stood up from the chair, causing both Ben and Carlos to follow.

After exchanging their goodbyes, Jane left leaving the two of them in the castle by themselves. The two of them made their way back into the main living room of the castle, before Carlos broke down again.

"Shhh, it's ok pup" Ben said, as Carlos cried onto his chest. Ben carefully sat the two of them down, as Carlos finally spoke.

"How is this ok? How is any of this ok! I'm going to be randomly struck by memories that were so bad my brain decided to repress them! How is this ok?" Carlos replied, hurt and anger present in his voice. Throughout his rant however, he didn't once let go of Ben, or remove himself from Ben's arms.

"Because now we know what the problem is, and you're going to get help for it." Ben said, before pushing Carlos out of his arms slightly, so he was looking into his eyes. "And I'll be there every step of the way to help you through it. Whatever you need Carlos, you'll get. Even if I have to launch a space ship to fix this, I will" Ben said, causing Carlos to chuckle slightly. Moment's went by with Carlos still snuggled into Ben's chest, before he decided to speak again.

"I think we should tell the kids" Carlos said, once again staring into Ben's eyes. "They need to know in case anything happens when I'm with them. I mean, poor Bailey was shit scared" he continued, causing Ben to nod.

"Ok" was all Ben said, placing a small kiss on Carlos' forehead before the two of them settled back into a hug, the pair of them remaining in silence for the time being, as they both comprehended what they had been told.

* * *

"Ok class, so for this term I want you to complete a project" Mr Barstad said, causing the class to groan respectively. "I haven't even told you want it's about or what I want you to do" Mr Barstad stated, as he walked back over to his whiteboard. "In pairs, I want you to create a poster about a magical artefact that we hold in the Museum of Cultural History. I have authorised the day off for us tomorrow, so we can visit the museum, and review the artefact you have chosen" Mr Barstad said, causing the class to nod. "Now, can you get yourself into pairs, and come let me know who you are with" he finished, sitting back at his desk.

Bailey and Adrian were currently sat next to each other, and silently communicated between the two of them. With nothing being said, Adrian got up and headed over to Hayden, while Bailey got up and walked towards Grayson. Both boys knew that they weren't allowed to work together, as they never get anything done. By pairing with the two VK's, it allowed the two boys to still work together in some sense. Well, that was their reasoning however. Bailey grew nervous as he approached Grayson but quickly swallowed his nerves when he saw Grayson smile at him.

"Hey, so I was wondering if…" was as far as Bailey got, before he heard his name spoken at the front of the class.

"Sir, Bailey and I are working together" he heard an all too haunting voice say, and when he looked up at the front, he saw Annabelle stood there staring at him, with an almost creepily happy smile.

"Wait Sir, I never agreed to this" Bailey said, as he approached the front, hoping that he could repeal the act that Annabelle performed.

"Nevertheless Mr Adams, I think it would be a great idea. Annabelle his very hard working, and I think pairing with her would be great for you" Mr Barstad said, causing Annabelle's smile to grow significantly.

"Wait, so I get no say in who I want to partner with?" Bailey asked, causing his teacher to nod his head.

"Not this time Mr Adams. But if you work well this time, I might give you back that privilege" Mr Barstad concluded, before the bell finally went, signalling the end of the lesson. Bailey let out a huff, before making his way back to over to Grayson.

"Sorry. I really wanted to partner with you" Bailey as he blushed slightly, causing Grayson to chuckle.

"No worries, I'm working with Xayn now anyway, so it's not like I'm alone" Grayson replied, as Bailey grabbed his bag, and the pair of them made their way out of the lesson. "So, what do you have next anyway?" Grayson asked, causing Bailey to try and remember his timetable.

"Ugh, I think it's physics" Bailey replied, causing Grayson to smile.

"Cool, maybe we could sit together?" the black-haired boy asked, causing Bailey to nod.

"Yeah, sounds good" Bailey replied, that small blush returning to his face as the two boys walked together.

* * *

Hayden and Adrian were in their free period chatting and deciding what artefact to work on for their Magical History Project. "How about Maleficent's staff?" Adrian asked, as the two boys were throwing ideas out.

"I like it. I mean, not many others would be doing the evil stuff, so it makes out unique" Hayden responded, thinking about the idea. Hayden had proposed to do Hades' potion that he used on Hercules, but Mr Barstad denied them this, stating that a potion wasn't technically an artefact, and also reminded him that the potion vial broke, so it could be stored.

Hayden then muttered "Barstad, more like Bastard" under his breathe as Adrian pulled him out of the room.

"So, it's sorted then. We'll do the staff" Adrian asked, causing Hayden to nod. The two boys continued to walk towards the forest, chatting about nonsense before they reached a clearing. "So, can you teach me some spells now?" Adrian asked, excited about the prospect of learning magic. After Hayden agreed to teach him, he tried to find books and anything to do that would help him get a head start. Unfortunately due to Beast pushing to remove magic from Auradon, very little information was out for the public to see.

Hayden didn't reply to what Adrian had said, instead sitting down on a log, reviewing his surroundings. In the middle of a forest didn't seem like the best place to teach a novice any kind of fire or destruction spells, so he knew that he would need to be careful with what he taught him. Of course, Hades was big on fire and destruction, so his knowledge about everything else was somewhat limited. He did know however that the same basic principle applied to any type of elemental spell. Testing his theory, Hayden produced a ball of water in the palm of his hand, and chuckled. Adrian stood there in awe, as he watched the VK mess about.

"Come on Hayden, at least say something! You can't just show off like that, and not say anything!" Adrian huffed, slightly aggravated that Hayden wasn't helping.

"Fine, what do you want to know?" Hayden asked, and Adrian stood there, considering what to ask about. There was so much stuff that Adrian could learn that he was overwhelmed.

"Ok, how about that fire thing. Teach me that" Adrian asked, causing Hayden to shake his head.

"Not in the middle of a forest. You'd end up burning it down" Hayden replied, causing Adrian to pout.

"Fine, then the water thing" Adrian stated, causing Hayden to nod.

"Ok, just stand there, and try to block everything out but the sound of my voice" Hayden said, causing Adrian to close his eyes, and start trying to block everything out. Hayden quickly noticed that the boy had tensed up. "And calm down a little. Just relax your body, and let nothingness overwhelm you" Hayden continued, trying not to think about the sentence he had just said. Adrian followed his instructions, and just completely relaxed both his body and his mind, become completely centred.

"Now…" Hayden began, before trying to figure out exactly how to word what he was thinking. "Try to feel the water flowing through your veins and focus that into the palm of your hand" The blue-haired boy finally concluded, as he followed his own instruction. He made perfect sense to him, and he hoped that it would to Adrian as well. Following the instructions given, Adrian imagined the feeling of water flowing throughout his body, and imagine the water flowing to his fingertips. He started to get the feeling that his fingertips were becoming wet and opened his eyes in excitement.

The lack of concentration caused the water to cease in existence, leaving only a small piece of water running down his middle finger.

"You lost concentration!" Hayden snapped, obviously annoyed by Adrian's lack of commitment.

"But I did it! Well, I mean I didn't get a ball of water, but look!" Adrian said, showing his finger to Hayden. He was too excited by the water droplet to care out Hayden's foul mood. When Hayden saw the water droplet, his anger lessened but it wasn't until he saw the smile on Adrian's face that it disappeared completely. The AK looked so happy, and enthusiastic about the smallest thing, and it made Hayden's heart flutter.

It definitely wasn't good for his crush, but Hayden didn't care.

* * *

"So, does anything feel any different?" Lexi asked, as her Charlie and Emily were all sat discussing what it was like for Charlie to be queen.

"Not really. I mean, everyone pretty much treats me the same, except they say "My queen" instead of 'princess', but other than that not much" Charlie responded, thinking about the question. Her life hadn't really changed since she had become queen, and she didn't really have any added responsibility. Ben and Carlos still handled most of the political side of the ruling, and at the moment Charlie was more of a symbol.

"So, nothing at all? You haven't had any boys try to throw themselves at you because of your standing?" Lexi asked, causing Charlie to giggle.

"Not really, well no more than they usually would. I mean, when we go on holiday, or royal visits, it like everyone acts like they want to get to know you, but really, they just want to get into a position of power. But then again, you two get the same" Charlie replied, knowing it was true of the other girls as well.

"I don't" Lexi and Charlie heard Emily say, and they both looked over to the blue-haired girl as she stared at the floor. "No one flirts with me, it's cause I'm not a princess" Emily continue, making sure not to make eye contact with the two other girls. Charlie and Lexi glanced at each other, unsure what was happening. The two of them had never really seen their friend like this.

"Don't be ridiculous E. I'm sure everyone flirts with you, you're gorgeous!" Charlie responded, causing a small smile to grow on Emily's face, one the two girls didn't know was forced.

"Thanks C. I've gotta go, I told my mum I'd meet up with her for a day out" Emily said, quickly grabbing her bits as the two other girls said goodbye. Once she left, Charlie turned to Lexi, with a look of concern on her face.

"I'm really worried about her." She began, glancing down at the floor before she continued to talk, suddenly nervous about what she had to say. "She's not really been eating much over the last few weeks, and I can see a few cuts on her leg after she shaves" Charlie said, finally letting her fears show. Lexi however didn't seem to convince.

"I'm sure it's nothing. I mean, she's never really eaten much anyway, and when I shave my legs, I cut myself sometimes by accident, you're probably just overthinking it" Lexi replied. As far as she was concerned, it didn't really seem like a lot of evidence for Charlie to be assuming something drastic. She still wanted to be a caring friend, but she didn't really want to start a problem if there wasn't a need for it.

"You're probably right" Charlie replied, thinking over what Lexi had said, however she wasn't too convinced either. Charlie and Emily had been best friends for years, and Charlie could tell when something was up. If Lexi wasn't going to help, then it would be up to Charlie to get to the bottom of the problem.

When Lexi left the room later that day, Charlie was still thinking about Emily, hoping that Lexi was right and that it was actually nothing but she was willing to do something if that wasn't the case.

* * *

 **There we go! So, we had Carlos finally get diagnosed for his problem, and he's going to start getting help for it. Bailey was auto assigned a partner for his project, and out of everyone, it had to be Annabelle. Hayden and Adrian started to work on Adrian's magic, only making Hayden's crush worse, and last but not least, Charlie has started to notice little issues with Emily.**

 **First of all, I wanted to thank MaliceMalAmyMalevFae for all the help with this story, they have been amazing for providing me with support and ideas. I also want to thank WhiteCollarBlackWolf for reviewing the last chapter.**

 **So, until Thursday for chapter 3 of Rekindled,**

 **TTFN :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Counselling and Confession

**Hi Guys and welcome back after a very long time, to Was It Truly Worth It. So, I'm going to be completely honest with you, I'm uploading this chapter, one because we hit 10,000 views on What is Love Truly Worth, which is completely insane to me, and two because I want to see how many of you guys actually want this story to continue. At the moment, I've been really demotivated in my writing of Benlos stuff, while I keep coming up with new and exciting stuff to do with Big Time Rush.**

 **With that being said, I'm trying to work out if I should continue to upload this from the 7th of May, or whether to upload another BTR story, one I know will be read, and reviewed. So, I hate to say it, but if you really want this story to continue from the 7th May, please leave a review, whether you are a guest or not letting me know.**

 **I'm sorry to do this to you that only read my Benlos stuff, and at some point I may get back into the swing of it, but with the lack of Benlos being uploaded on this website, I'm struggling to find motivation.**

 **Anyway, that's enough of the sad stuff and let's crack on with the story!**

* * *

Ben was currently waiting for the other three original VK's to meet him in his office. Two things were currently playing on his mind, and he wanted to address it as soon as possible. The first was the thought that maybe the older VK's have had similar experiences to Carlos, and that their brains have also suppressed the memories, and now they are waiting for a trigger. The last thing they needed was for Evie to have a mental breakdown in the middle of the school, or while Jay was training with a sword.

The second thought was about the younger VK's for the exact same reason. When they arrived, they'd said that they had been beaten and starved, and while they checked out as physically ok, who knows what their mental state is like. It took 34 years for one of Carlos' memories to resurface, so maybe it would be beneficial for the newer VK's to start out counselling now and get the process started. Ben was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in" Ben yelled, and the door opened to reveal who he'd asked for.

"Ben hey, how's Carlos?" Evie asked, walking into the room first, followed by Jay and then Mal. Mal was always at the back, and Ben guessed it was an instinct thing, with her wanting to protect her crew, whether she noticed it or not.

"He's sleeping at the moment." Ben began, sighing slightly as he continued. "He's struggling with the whole thing. After all this time, he'd finally gotten comfortable, and everything was looking up and now he's dealing with this as well, it's not fair" the King continued, finally letting all of his feelings show. A few tears strolled down his face as he began to speak, and the VK's were instantly at his side to comfort him.

"He'll be ok Ben, he's going to get better, just like he always does" Mal said, knowing that was true. Of course, the reason she knew that wasn't the best, but Carlos always recovered when he was in trouble.

"Thanks guys." Ben replied, trying to straighten himself out. He hadn't invited the VK's here to cry, no matter how much he needed to. "Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you about what's happened. Did Carlos ever mention any of this, or were you there when it happened?" Ben asked, trying to remain strong. Of course, he had flashes of images when he asked about what happened, but he knew he needed to be strong to get to the bottom of this. The VK's looked at each other, Mal nodding to the other two before Jay spoke up.

"We weren't there when it was Cruella beating him, but Mal and I saw the damage from that, and we helped him heal up." He said, before Evie took over.

"As for the beating from Governor Ratcliffe, I was in the class with him. After he was beaten, he returned to his seat until the lesson was over. As soon as it was, I took him straight to the school's excuse of an infirmary and tried my best to repair some of the injuries. Mal and Jay found us, and tried to help as well" Evie confessed, causing then to look down at the floor in regret. Evie was on the verge of crying, and even Mal was starting to get emotional.

"Guys, this isn't your fault. You couldn't know this was going to happen" Ben said to the group, trying to ease their worries.

"But we could have tried to stop it. We knew Carlos was being beaten from Cruella, and we could have tried to stop it, tried to get him out" Mal replied, a stray tear strolling down her face. It was clear how much these guys had changed over the years.

"Guys, think about it logically. You were on the Isle at the time, and you were completely different people. Sure, you could have tried to help Carlos, but as a result, you could have been injured as well. There was nothing you could have done." Ben replied, now being the comforting one. And what he said was true. The Isle was all about self-preservation, and no matter how close this band of friends was at the time, they would have put their safety first. They can't be blamed for what happened, as they didn't know any better in this case. That thought made Ben shiver, realising that this was probably the norm on the Isle. The three VK's looked back up at Ben, small, weak smiles on their faces. Ben knew they would still be guilty for a while but this was a start.

"Also, I wanted to talk to you about starting counselling like Carlos is. I don't know as much about your lives growing up but…" Ben began, but Evie was quick to cut him off.

"We appreciate what you're trying to do Ben, but the truth is that Carlos was really the only one that this happened to. No one would touch Mal cause she was the daughter of Maleficent, I was only at school for about a year before we moved here, and Jay always did what was needed to survive." Evie responded, but Ben didn't seem convinced.

"But what about at home, with your parents?" he asked, causing Mal to shake her head.

"Cruella was the only one crazy enough to do that. The Evil Queen would never hit Evie, as she didn't want to ruin her beauty, Jay never really spent any time at home, he was always out stealing and I was always out trying to do an evil deed to impress my mother" Mal answered next, causing the other two to nod.

"If it helps, we'll each attend one session just to make sure" Jay concluded, after seeing the look on Ben's face once more. Everyone seemed satisfied with that agreement, causing Ben to make a note of what had been agreed.

"The final thing was the new VK's" Ben said, causing Evie to jump in right away.

"We'll also arrange for them to have one session with a proper counsellor and then during our meetings with them, we'll try to help as well" the headmistress said, showing she had already showed concern for her students. Ben smiled at that, knowing that the VK's had truly changed over the years.

"Thanks guys" Ben said, concluding their little meeting.

"Not a problem" Mal said, as the three of them got up from their seats.

"And Ben" Jay said, causing him to look up at the three of them.

"If you ever need to talk, we're here" Evie said, causing Ben to smile at them

"Thanks guys. You truly are my best friends" the king replied, causing the three VK's to smile as they left the room. When they did, Ben broke down once more, the pressure finally getting to him.

* * *

"I think we should do the Ring of Envy" Bailey said, causing Annabelle to pull a face of disgust.

"Eww, why we want to do that ugly thing?" the bratty girl replied. They pair of them were currently sat in Bailey room with the door wide open. Bailey didn't trust this girl one bit but he knew if he was in the library, where everyone else was, he wouldn't get anything done. He also didn't want to be in Annabelle's room, that thought horrified him.

"Because, no one else would think to do it, so our poster would be unique. Plus, I happen to know a little bit about it already" Bailey replied, slightly proud of his knowledge of the ring. When his Dad and Pops took him and Charlie to the museum, Carlos was happy to share the information that he knew about the ring and Bailey remember most of it.

"Yeah, but I think we should do Triton's Trident. One because it looks a lot better than that stupid thing, and two because it's still in use today, so we get the most recent information on it" Annabelle replied, scooting slightly closer to Bailey as he did so.

"That makes no sense! We already know everything about the trident, so there won't be any 'recent information' on it. Just like we know everything around the ring" Bailey exclaimed, turning to face Annabelle, only to see he was receiving a death glare from the girl.

"Look, I really like you Bailey, but if I have to tell Mr Barstad that you're not willing to work in this project I will." Annabelle replied, and Bailey was completely shocked.

"Wait, are you blackmailing me?" the surprised boy asked, as Annabelle continued to scoot a little closer to him.

"No, I'm giving you an ultimatum. Do as I say, or I'll tell Mr Barstad that you're not helping, and refusing to work" The sly girl replied.

"That is blackmail! If you tell Mr Barstad, I'll tell him the truth, that you're not letting me have a choice in this."

"And who will he believe? The girl with the perfect grades or the boy he had to assign to a partner because he doesn't work?" Annabelle replied, showing her sadistic side that was there all along. Knowing that he wasn't going to get his own way while working with Annabelle, Bailey let out a sigh, already concocting a plan for his idea.

"Ok, we'll do the trident" Bailey replied, causing Annabelle to grab his arm as she spoke next.

"Good, now let's start to get some research done" she replied, squeezing Bailey's bicep, something the boy was becoming very uncomfortable with very quick.

"Y-Yeah, ok" Bailey replied, moving away from the girl so her arm dropped off his arm. "So, we can meet up again maybe tomorrow, and compare what we've got" he continued, seeing that the girl was moving closer to him.

"Maybe we should do the research together now, so I know that you are actually doing it" Annabelle replied, moving closer to Bailey again. And so the game of cat and mouse began. Bailey would move further away from the girl, but every time she would just move closer, and Bailey was starting to get more and more confused.

"Actually, you need to leave" Bailey suddenly blurted out, his nerves growing rapidly.

"Why?" The girl asked, as Bailey got so close to the wall, he knew he wasn't going to be able to move any further. This didn't stop the predatory advances of the girl, and Bailey was wondering if he could seriously report her for being so creepy.

"Because…" Bailey said, as he began to stutter, trying to thing of a reason. "Because my Pops is coming by to say hello" was the best Bailey could think of at the time. Annabelle didn't seem phased as she moved slightly closer.

"I haven't seen the King it a while. Maybe I should stay and pay my respects" she said, causing Bailey to run out of options. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Bailey tried to move when Annabelle caught him in a kiss. She moved her lips against Bailey's, who seemed to be completely static and quite honestly horrified at what was happening. As Bailey tried to push her away, Bailey heard someone let out a wolf whistle, and when Annabelle finally pulled away, he saw Adrian there with a smug smile on his face.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the library" Annabelle huffed, annoyed that someone had interrupted her little moment.

"Aren't you supposed to kiss someone, not chew on their face?" Adrian retorted, causing Bailey to try and stifle his laugh. He let out a cough, hoping he had cover it quite well. Annabelle let out a whiny huff, before Adrian spoke up again. "Besides, you need to leave. King Ben is coming to get Bailey soon, and he doesn't need to walk in to see you two doing that" Adrian continued, pointing between the two of them.

"Fine! I'll see you later Bailey. Call me" the desperate girl said, before grabbing her bits and leaving. As soon as she walked out the door, Bailey sprinted over to Adrian and got onto his knees.

"Thank you, thank you so much!" Bailey chanted, acting like he was almost praying towards the other boy. Adrian just chuckled, tapping Bailey on the head as a joke before walking over to his desk.

"No worries buddy. I could tell you weren't as into that kiss as she was" Adrian replied, causing Bailey to chuckle as he flopped onto his bed.

"You have no idea! It felt like she was trying to suck my face off. It was wet and slobbery, ugh" Bailey replied shivering at the memory. "How'd you know I said that my Pops was coming to get me?" Bailey asked, shocking that he friend was on the same wavelength as him.

"What do you mean? Charlie told me in the library, saying that your Dad and Pops needed to speak with you, so I said I'd come get you and make sure you knew" Adrian replied, causing Bailey to fall back onto his bed, thinking about what they wanted to talk to him about. Bailey's thought went back to when Carlos broke down, and he hoped it had nothing to do with that.

He hated seeing his Dad so vulnerable and he didn't really want to see it again. Maybe they just wanted to ask where they wanted to go on holiday next year.

* * *

Hayden was currently sat in the library, currently trying to keep his mind occupied so he didn't erupt with jealously. Everything was going really well for the last couple of hours. He was sat with Adrian working on their project and the two of them were getting on really well, sharing a joke as well as some intellectual conversation. That was until Charlie came over, and asked if anyone had been Bailey, saying that their parents needed to talk to them about something.

As soon as Bailey's name was mentioned, Adrian jumped up, and told her that he would sort it out, exchanging a short goodbye with Hayden before he shot off. Of course, Hayden saw red, suddenly getting jealous of Bailey and his power over Adrian, causing Hayden to start brainstorming ways to kill the Kings son. That didn't get him very far, as he realised that in Auradon it wasn't alright to threaten people with death, so instead he tried to focus his energy on reading about Maleficent's staff.

"Someone's angry" Hayden looked up from his book to see Hattie stood there, with a smirk on her face. He gave her a quizzical look, causing her to roll her eyes. "Your hair's red" She replied, causing Hayden's arms to shoot up to his hair, trying to cover as much of it as possible. That's when Hayden realised that his hair couldn't try red, and he returned his attention to Hattie to see that she was crying with laughter. "Oh god, you should have seen your face. You were like 'Oh god, my hairs red!'" Hattie said, mocking Hayden's voice and actions, even though the boy had yet to say a word.

"What do you want Hattie?" Hayden asked, his voice laced with annoyance for the girl as she took a seat next to him.

"You looked sad. And according to Mal, the best thing to do if someone is sad is to ask them about it" Hattie replied, turning more serious as she sat down next to Hayden.

"It's nothing." Hayden replied, trying to avoid eye contact with Hattie.

"Really? Cause this doodle of you setting someone on fire begs a differ" Hattie replied, pointing to Hayden's doodle in the margin. It showed a stick figure burning, while another stood there with a fireball in his hand. It was well known that Hayden was the only one in the group to possess magic, so the connection wasn't that hard to make. Hayden was quick to scramble, panicking as he covered the doodle, as he mumbled "fuck" under his breath. "Seriously Hay, talk to me." Hattie said, causing Hayden to finally look up at him.

"It's honestly nothing, I'm just a little jealous" Hayden finally admitted, causing Hattie to nod in agreement, as she now fully understood.

"I understand. You're pissed cause Adrian left to go see Bailey" she concluded, causing Hayden to nod, as he looked down at the table once more. Now that it was said out loud, he kinda realised how ridiculous it was.

"It sounds stupid I know" Hayden mumbled, slightly embarrassed but Hattie just shook her head.

"Dude, it's not. If anything it's kinda cute." Hattie replied, causing Hayden to blush. "You just need to remember that Bailey and Adrian have been best friends for ages. Plus, like Mal said, King Carlos is going through some stuff at the moment, so Adrian is just trying to be a good friend. You have nothing to worry about" Hattie replied, everything finally falling into place for Hayden. "Now come on, let's go get some food from the cafeteria, cause I'm starving" Hattie said, placing a couple pats on Hayden's back as she got up.

"How can you be starving, you ate 3 bowls of cereal for breakfast" Hayden joked back, causing Hattie to slap him on the arm.

"I'm making up for lost time" Hattie replied, as the two of them chuckled, trying to make light on their situation of the Isle, no matter how bad it was.

* * *

"I can't do this" Carlos said, as he and Ben sat on the sofa waiting for Bailey and Charlie to show up. Carlos was currently freaking out about how the kids will react when they tell them about the Isle, and Carlos' condition.

"Carlos, you were the one who wanted to. Plus, I think it is for the best. That way they'll be able to help you if it happens again" Ben reasoned, as he pulled Carlos into a hug, hoping to calm the smaller man's nerves.

"But what if they think I'm a freak? What if they hate me?" Carlos replied, trying not to let the tears fall onto Ben's shirt. That was his one real concern throughout all of this, he was worried that his kids would hate him.

"Carlos, don't be ridiculous, they won't hate you, you're their father. They love you so much Carlos and nothing will change that" Ben replied, slightly hurt that Carlos would think that. No matter what happened to the smaller male, Ben knew that they would still love him, and that they'd do anything to help him through it. Before long, the door to the living room opened to reveal a rather sceptical Bailey and Charlie. Ben offered them a small smile, before gesturing to the sofa in front of them.

"Pops, Dad, What's wrong?" Charlie asked, as her and Bailey took the seat. All eyes were on the cuddling couple on the sofa. "You're not getting a divorce, are you?" Charlie suddenly asked, not at all thinking about what she was saying. Charlie was then in tears, begging the two of them not to separate.

"Charlie, calm down, we're not getting a divorce" Carlos said, looking at the white and black haired girl. "We needed to talk about what happened the other day" he continued, causing Bailey to tense up instantly. He was really hoping that it wasn't about that, but that was out of the window. "Firstly, I want to apologise Bailey for freaking you out like that" Carlos said, causing Ben to shake his head.

"It wasn't your fault pup" Ben said, but Carlos still felt like he should apologise.

"I know, but I can't imagine it was nice for him to see me like that. So, I am sorry Bailey" Carlos said anyway, causing Bailey to just nod in return. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Pops, what's going on?" Charlie finally asked, just wanting to address the issue. At the moment, the room was rather awkward, especially for this family, who tended to share everything with each other.

"The other day we spoke to Jane about some problems that your Dad has been having" Ben began, knowing that Carlos wouldn't be able to handle it. He could already feel Carlos' grip tightening on him, so he knew that Carlos wouldn't be able to say it himself, if he was struggling to hear it. "Your Dad is dealing with some…" Ben lingered on the word, trying to word it as best as possible. He knew he had to be careful about how he handled this.

"I have PTSD" Carlos blurted out, screwing Ben's plan over completely. "I spoke to Jane, because I've been having random flashes of some unfortunate events that happened on the Isle. She said that the memories have been suppressed for years because of how horrific they were, but now they are starting to come back with certain triggers" Carlos continued to ramble, not being able to control the words that were coming out of his mouth. He broke into tears as he spoke, the kids stunned into silence as they witnessed a full breakdown of their father. "I'm so sorry" was all Carlos said next, before snuggling into Ben's chest.

The kids were quick to be at his side, helping Ben comfort their sobbing father. It was also due to the fact that the Kids themselves felt like they were going to break down, and they looked towards their Pops for some sort of strength. Ben wrapped his arms around his entire family, as the three people he loved the most sobbed with each other. Ben tried to stay strong, but he couldn't help the few tears that were running down his face.

"I know this is difficult for you to hear, but your dad and I thought it was for the best. After what happened with Bailey, we just want you to be prepared in case it happens again ok?" Ben asked, and he felt two heads nodding against him. "We're going to get through this as a family ok? We're all going to be there for each other in case we need anything ok? Now tell you father you still love him, cause he was freaking out about that" Ben said, causing Carlos' sobs to increase.

"Of course we love you Dad" Charlie said first, as she pressed a kiss onto his cheek.

"Yeah, no matter what, you're still our father. You're still the person that raised us and still the person that helped us pull off that exploding cake on Pops' birthday" Bailey said, causing the four of them to chuckle.

"I'm still annoyed about that. You ruined my favourite suit" Ben joked, hoping that it would lighten the mood.

"Come on Ben, all your suits look the same anyway" he heard Carlos mumble into his chest, causing the kids to nod as they chuckle.

"Not true, that one had a gold trim" Ben pouted, again making everyone chuckle.

"They all do Pops" he heard Charlie say as he felt Carlos and Bailey nod against him. Carlos looked up at Ben, before placing a kiss onto his lips, stopping the pout that Ben was putting on.

"How about we all spend the evening watching a film with some junk food." Ben asked, as everyone finally separated from the hug. Well, Carlos was still hugging Ben, but the kids had pulled away.

"Yeah, and then you can tell Pops and Dad about you and Annabelle kissing" Charlie said, directing her comment to Bailey. As soon as the words left Charlie's mouth, Bailey flushed a bright red colour, while Ben and Carlos raised an eyebrow at their youngest child.

"She kissed me!" was all Bailey managed to say through his blush, causing Ben and Carlos to let out a small chuckle.

Carlos was relieved about how well that had gone. His biggest fear was quelled and he felt safe with his family, knowing that they were all willing to do anything to help him if he needed it.

* * *

 **I just want to say thank you to White Collar Black Wolf for reviewing the last chapter.**


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